Cornus florida
Common name: 
Flowering Dogwood
Pink Flowering Dogwood
Pronunciation: 
KOR-nus FLOR-i-da
Family: 
Cornaceae
Genus: 
Cornus
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Broadleaf deciduous tree/shrub, 20-25 ft (6-7.6 m) tall, low branching, spreading horizontal.   Bark is gray-brown to blackish and broken into small squarish blocks, which some say resembles an alligator's back.  (This similarity is also helpful in recalling the specific epithet of the plant, i.e., florida).  Leaves opposite, simple, 7.5-15 cm long, oval or ovate, 6-7 vein pairs.  Terminal flower buds globose, biscuit shaped, flattened, and covered by two large appressed, pubescent scales.   True flowers are greenish yellow, only 6 mm, not showy, crowded on a 12 mm head, which is subtended by 4 showy, white (or pink in C. f. f. rubra) bracts, this "flower" is 7.5-10 cm across.  Fruit glossy red (0.8 cm long) in fall, 3-4 or more in a cluster.
  • Sun to part shade.  Does best in well drained acid soil with sufficient organic matter.    Mulch to maintain a cool, moist soil.  Needs summer water.    It is essential to avoid putting this plant under stress, i.e. heat, drought, cold, for it predisposes it to insect and disease attack.  This species is susceptible to a number of pests.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone (5)6    Native range extends from Massachusetts to Florida, west to Ontario, Texas, and Mexico.  In a good portion of this range native Cornus florida trees are dying due to dogwood anthracnose, a disease caused by the fungus Discula destructiva.
  • There are numerous cultivars (more than 80), which differ in "flower" (bract) color and size, leaf color (e.g., variegated), and plant form (e.g., upright, compact, weeping).   For brief descriptions of cultivars, see Dirr (1998), Jacobson (1996), or Santamour and McArdle [J. Arboriculture 11:29-36(1985)].  The latter authors observed that in the U.S. nursery trade there was a "great deal of commercial synonymy", especially among the pink-bracted cultivars (i.e., a given selection sold under several names).
  • Two variegated cultivars:
    • 'Golden Nugget', green and gold foliage, white floral bracts
    • 'Welchii', leaves green, cream white, and pink, white bracts
  • Oregon State Univ. campus: near the southeast door of Ag. and Life Sciences.

 

Click image to enlarge
  • plant habit, white flowering

    plant habit, white flowering

  • plant habit, white flowering

    plant habit, white flowering

  • flowers, white

    flowers, white

  • flower opening

    flower opening

  • plant habit, flowering (C. florida f. rubra)

    plant habit, flowering (C. florida f. rubra)

  • plant habit, flowering (C. florida f. rubra)

    plant habit, flowering (C. florida f. rubra)

  • flowers (C. florida f. rubra)

    flowers (C. florida f. rubra)

  • at and after flowering (C. florida f. rubra)

    at and after flowering (C. florida f. rubra)

  • leafy shoot

    leafy shoot

  • leaves

    leaves

  • leaves and immature fruit

    leaves and immature fruit

  • fruit clusters

    fruit clusters

  • fruit, comparison

    fruit, comparison

  • plant habit, late summer and fall

    plant habit, late summer and fall

  • flower buds

    flower buds

  • plant habit, fall

    plant habit, fall

  • leaves, fall

    leaves, fall

  • trunk, bark

    trunk, bark

  • plant habit, winter

    plant habit, winter

  • winter twig, buds

    winter twig, buds