Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
Cornaceae
One of our best known native small trees with lots of 4 to 5 inch showy white flowers from March through May, oval pointed leaves turn burgundy red in the fall at the same time the terminal clusters of berries are turning bright red, birds & other small critters really like the seeds (especially bluebirds!), even the bark of mature trees gets a lovely gray checkered pattern that is attractive & distinctive in the winter garden & forest (leading to one of our all time favorite bad puns - you can always tell a Dogwood by its bark!), larval food plant for one of our first butterflies of spring - the Spring Azure Butterfly (Celastrina-ladon) as well as the Summer Azure Butterfly (Celastrina neglecta ), suitable for bonsai (!). State flower of North Carolina & Virginia!
up to 25 foot tall & 15 foot Wide
Plant Hardiness Zones: 5a-8b
Tree
Native Range: c. MI to s. ON & s. ME, south to c. FL & e. TX. Rare in ME, NY & VT
Germination - Moderately Difficult: Soak overnight. Cold Stratify 12 weeks. Some may take 2 years.
