Cornus florida

Cornus Florida, or Flowering Dogwood, is a small, deciduous, flowering tree that may grow 15 to 25 feet tall and 4 to 6 inches in diameter. Occasionally, it will reach a height of 40 feet with a trunk diameter of 12 to 18 inches. The leaves are alternate, acutely veined, with a smooth to wavy margin. The bark is smooth when young. As the tree ages, the bark becomes very scaly to finely blocky.

The  tree is known and admired for its display of very showy, large, white (occasionally pink) bracts that emerge before the leaves in early spring and surround small, inconspicuous, tight clusters of green flowers. The small tree also produces fruit in the form of a cluster of red drupes that mature in the fall. The Dogwood flower, which is actually the petal-like bracts, is the state flower of North Carolina and the tree is found throughout the state, usually under larger forest trees.

The Flowering dogwood is easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. It prefers moist, well-drained, organically rich, acidic soils in part shade. It will benefit from a 2-4” mulch which will help keep roots cool and moist in summer.  It can withstand hot temperatures as long as the roots remain moist and well-mulched.

Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems:   Calico scale, dogwood borer, dogwood sawfly, Japanese maple scale, leafhoppers, oyster shell scale.   Dogwood anthracnose is not all that common, only occurs at 1800 feet or higher elevation. Spot anthracnose is more common.  Trees are also susceptible to powdery mildew, leaf spot, canker, root rot and leaf, and twig blight  crown canker, bacterial leaf scorch, powdery mildew, septoria leaf spot. The foliage is browsed by white-tailed deer and these trees do not withstand pollution.

VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for "Trees, Shrubs and Conifers" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.