Tree · Cornaceae
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
Give it part shade and moist, acidic soil, and the flowering dogwood pays you back with spring bracts and red autumn fruit.
Partial shade
Every 5–10 days
USDA 5–9
15–30 ft · 4.6–9.1 m
Overview
Few small trees set the tone of a spring garden the way flowering dogwood does, one of the signature natives of eastern North America that brightens the woodland edge with broad white blooms. In its element it lives as an understory tree, tucked below taller oaks and pines where light falls in patches and the ground holds its cool and moisture. That preference all but writes the brief for placing it well at home.
Its celebrated spring display rests on a quiet sleight of hand. The four big white parts that look like petals are in fact bracts, modified leaves folded around a small knot of true flowers at the center. They arrive in April and May, sometimes ahead of the foliage, and once they fade the tree carries clusters of bright red fruit from August into October that the birds make short work of.
It earns a moderate rating because it asks for the right setting and turns to disease when pushed. Choose the spot with care, sheltered from the harshest afternoon sun and over ground that drains freely yet never bakes, and it eases into a long, unhurried life as a quiet anchor in the garden. Plant it in hot, dry, compacted soil and you set up the very troubles that cut its years short.
Care
The short version: part shade with cover from harsh afternoon sun, moist and acidic well-drained soil, a 2 to 4 inch layer of mulch to keep the roots cool, and an attentive eye for anthracnose through cool, damp seasons.
Light
As an understory tree, it favors part shade and appreciates relief from the heat of the afternoon sun. It will accept full sun in cooler regions or where moisture stays steady, but a hot, exposed position wears it down and lets disease in.
Water
Keep the soil consistently moist, since this tree has no tolerance for drought, heat, or packed ground. Water deeply through dry spells and spread 2 to 4 inches of mulch to hold moisture and keep the shallow roots cool.
Soil
Set it in rich, acidic, well-drained loam generously amended with organic matter. A pH between 6.0 and 7.0 sits right with it, and ground that drains freely while never drying out marks the ideal.
Temperature
It stays hardy across a broad span, roughly -20°F to 100°F (-29°C to 38°C), taking cold winters and hot summers in stride. Heat poses the larger danger here, since a tree parched and worn by it is the one disease finds first.
Humidity
Everyday outdoor humidity suits it perfectly and asks for no attention. Airflow matters far more than any reading, because still, crowded air around the canopy is what gives anthracnose and mildew their opening.
Feeding
Feed once in early spring with a balanced slow-release fertilizer formulated for acid-loving plants. Keep the nitrogen modest, since a surge of soft new growth is precisely the thing anthracnose feeds on.
Pruning
Prune in late fall or winter while the tree is dormant, clearing dead, diseased, or cankered wood and any water sprouts. Work with a light hand and steer clear of wounding the bark, because open cuts are the way borers slip in.
Repotting
This is a landscape tree that rarely needs repotting. Should you raise a young one in a container, shift it up only when roots begin circling the surface or the pot dries out quickly after each watering.
Size & spacing
A mature flowering dogwood stands 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9 m) tall and spreads to roughly the same width. Allow it the full 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9 m) of clear space so the canopy can breathe and disease finds less of a hold.
When to plant
Flowering dogwood keeps time with the rhythm of the temperate woods. The bracts unfold in April and May, the red fruit colors up from August into October, and a new tree settles in best when planted in spring or fall while it rests dormant.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Not typically started indoors; seed is sown outdoors in fall or stratified at about 41 degrees F for up to 120 days before spring sowing
- Plant: Spring or fall while dormant
- Harvest: April to May (showy white bracts before or with leaf emergence); red fruit August to October
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 5–9
Temperature: down to -29°C
Troubleshooting
Most dogwood trouble begins with a stressful setting and announces itself on the leaves before it reaches the wood. Spot it early, above all through a cool, wet spring, and a small concern often stops well short of the trunk. Find what matches below, then act while action still counts.
Drooping, blotched foliage giving way to sunken cankers along the trunk
What you are seeing is dogwood anthracnose, the gravest threat this tree will meet, and it does its worst in cool, damp corners where shade lingers. The first signs sit on the lowest leaves, tan patches edged in purple, before the trouble works upward into twigs and trunk as cankers that can girdle and end a tree. Cut away cankered wood on a dry day, sweep up fallen leaves, open the canopy so air moves through, and where the threat is real, reach for a labeled fungicide once buds break.
Fix:
- Prune out and destroy dead and cankered wood during dry summer weather
- Remove water sprouts and rake and dispose of fallen leaves
- Improve air circulation and avoid excess nitrogen
- Apply a labeled fungicide (chlorothalonil, mancozeb, propiconazole, or copper) from bud break through new growth in high-risk sites
Reddened leaves arriving early, flaking bark, and sawdust near trunk holes
These signs point to the dogwood borer, a larva that bores beneath the bark and most often enters by way of an injury. Look for bark that peels and sawdust-like frass gathering on the trunk and the larger limbs, because a young tree can be lost in a season or two. Keep the tree well watered and thriving, guard the bark against mower and trimmer nicks, and apply a labeled permethrin to the trunk beginning in early May.
Fix:
- Keep trees healthy with proper watering and fertilization
- Avoid bark wounds from lawn equipment
- Apply labeled permethrin to trunk and major branches beginning in early May, repeating per label
A pale dusty film over the leaves, edges turning crisp
That powdery white veil over fresh growth is powdery mildew, a problem that takes hold where shade hangs heavy and the air rarely stirs. Leaf edges brown and a few drop ahead of schedule, yet the tree generally comes through it. Open up the canopy and the plantings around it so air can circulate, and treat with a labeled fungicide the moment those first patches surface.
Fix:
- Thin canopy and surrounding plantings to improve air circulation
- Apply a labeled fungicide (myclobutanil, propiconazole, sulfur, or copper) early when symptoms first appear
Fine purple-rimmed flecks scattered across the bracts and new leaves
A scatter of small tan flecks ringed in reddish purple across the spring bracts is spot anthracnose, which surges when the weather turns wet. The look is unkempt and the bracts may pucker, though lasting harm to the tree is rare. Open the canopy for airflow, pick resistant varieties, and during a bad year spray a labeled fungicide every 10 to 14 days from bud break through leaf expansion.
Fix:
- Thin the canopy to improve air circulation
- Plant resistant varieties
- Apply a labeled fungicide every 10 to 14 days from bud break through leaf expansion in severe cases
Toxicity
Reassuring news for a home with animals: flowering dogwood is not toxic. The ASPCA does not count it among the plants that poison cats or dogs, and it carries no genuine risk to other pets, livestock, or people. The red fruit is bitter, so a large helping might bring a mild stomach ache, yet there is nothing dangerous within the tree.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Safe
Flowering dogwood does not appear on the ASPCA list of plants toxic to cats, so an inquisitive nibble need not worry you. Like any plant, a cat that swallows a mouthful of leaves may bring it back up, but the tree itself holds no poison.
Dogs Safe
Dogs are equally safe around it, as the tree does not feature on the ASPCA toxic list. A large helping of bark or fruit might leave a dog briefly queasy, yet nothing about it carries lasting risk.
Horses Safe
A horse can graze near a dogwood with nothing to fear. There is no toxin in the leaves or twigs, and the tree has no reputation for troubling animals that browse it.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can nibble the foliage without harm. None of the plant is poisonous to them, though a rabbit fares best on its usual fare of hay and greens rather than tree leaves.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep run no risk from a dogwood standing in or beside the pasture. The tree counts as non-toxic, so an animal that strips a low branch or two will be perfectly fine.
Birds Safe
Birds adore the bright red fruit and feed on it readily, which is precisely how the seeds travel. The berries make a welcome meal, never a danger.
People Safe
There is no poisoning risk to people from this plant. The red fruit tastes bitter, so eating a quantity of it may bring on a mild stomach ache, yet there is nothing harmful in the tree.
No special toxicity handling required; as with any plant, discourage pets from chewing large amounts of foliage or fruit.
Varieties
Most flowering dogwoods offered for sale are named cultivars, selected for bract color, fuller bloom, or resistance to disease. A few stand out as worth knowing.
Cherokee Chief
Where most wear white, this selection brings deep rosy-red bracts that read beautifully against fresh spring foliage.
Cherokee Princess
A reliable, generous performer that wraps itself early in large white bracts.
Cloud 9
Layered thick with white flowers and inclined to put on a real show even while still young.
Appalachian Spring
A white-bracted choice valued above all for standing up to dogwood anthracnose.
How to propagate
Three routes lead to more flowering dogwoods, and which suits you turns on whether matching a named cultivar matters to your plans.
SeedModerate
Sow in fall, or stratify cleaned seed at about 41 degrees F for up to 120 days then sow in spring · Germinates the following spring; some seed delays to the second year
Each seed comes with a dormancy that only a cold stretch will release. Sow the cleaned seed outdoors in fall, or give it a chill at around 41°F (5°C) for up to 120 days and sow in spring, and it will rise the next spring, with a portion waiting until the second year. One caveat worth noting: seedlings differ from one another, so they will not come true to a named cultivar.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Softwood cuttings in summer · Several weeks to root; cuttings from young trees root and grow better than those from mature trees
Gather softwood cuttings in summer, or take hardwood cuttings through the winter. Rooting comes along in a few weeks, and pieces drawn from young trees establish and grow much more readily than those cut from old wood.
GraftingDemanding
Dormant season grafting or budding · One or more growing seasons to establish
This is the route nurseries rely on to hold a named cultivar true. Grafting or budding through the dormant season keeps the bract color and disease resistance reliable, and the young tree wants a season or more to settle in.
Myths
Flowering dogwood does best in full, hot sun like most flowering trees.
This is a native understory tree by nature, happiest in part shade over moist, acidic, organically rich ground. Drought, heat, and packed-down soil all sit poorly with it, and a tree left to bake in a hot, dry corner turns stressed. A stressed dogwood is far more likely to fall to disease, which makes your choice of site count for as much as any care that follows.
The big white petals of a dogwood bloom are its real flowers.
Those four striking white parts that draw every eye are not petals in the least. They are bracts, modified leaves, while the genuine flowers are the small yellowish-green clusters gathered at the center.