Michigan State University Extension
Ornamental Plants plus Version 3.0 - 00000417
11/12/99
Cornus florida--Flowering Dogwood
Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Height: 20 ft Spread: 20 ft Form: rounded
Type: deciduous tree
Annual Growth Rate: 12 to 18 inches
Flowers: White, pink, red
Fruit: Red
Comments: Flowering Dogwood (Vis. 10) grows in sun or shade
but shaded trees will be less dense, grow more quickly and
have poor fall color. The flowers consist of 4 bracts
(Vis. 12) which subtend the small head of yellow flowers.
The bracts may be pink or red but the normal color is white.
The fall color depends on site and seed source but on most
sun grown plants will be red to maroon (Vis. 11). The red
fruits (Vis. 13) are often eaten by birds. The bark on
mature trees has an interesting texture(Vis. 9). Trees from
southern seed sources should not be grown in northern areas
because they lack adequate cold hardiness.
Cultivars:
'Cherokee Brave' - Dark pink flowers have white centers.
'Cherokee Chief' - The flowers (Vis. 1) are red and the
new growth is reddish.
Cherokee Daybreak(R)(Plant Patent 6320) - The foliage is
variegated with white and pink (Vis. 13). White
flowers.
'Cherokee Princess' - A white-flowered (Vis. 2) dogwood
that blooms at an early age.
Cherokee Sunset TM (Plant Patent 6305) - The flowers
(Vis. 3) are red. The new growth is at first pinkish
red (Vis. 4) maturing to green. The fall color is
combinations of pink, red and purple.
'Cloud 9' - The flowers (Vis. 5) have rounded bracts and
are produced in abundance.
'Daybreak' - The foliage is variegated with white and
pink.
'First Lady' - The green leaves (Vis. 7) are edged with
yellow becoming red edged with pink (Vis. 6) in the
fall. White flowers.
'Pendula' - A weeping type with white flowers.
'Rainbow' - The leaves are variegated with yellow, the
flowers are white.
'Richland' - White flowers and dark red fall color.
var. rubra - The new foliage is red but turns green
with age. The flowers are pink to red (Vis. 8).
'Sunset' - The foliage is yellow and green and the
flowers are red. The foliage is maroon and red in
the fall.
'Welchii' - The foliage is green with white and pink
variegations. The leaves turn combinations of red,
pink and burgundy in the fall. The flowers are
white.
References for Cultivars: Lake County Nursery 1999, Ray
Wiegand's Nursery 1999, Princeton Nurseries 1997, J. Frank
Schmidt and Son 1999, Wayside Gardens 1999, Sheridan
Nurseries 1999, Studebaker Nurseries 1999, Scarff's Nursery
1999, Gee Farms 1999, Willoway Nurseries 1999.
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to commercial products or trade names does not imply
endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not
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This file was generated from data base ZZ on 01/19/00.
Data base ZZ was last revised on 11/12/99.
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