Cornus florida

flowering dogwood

Cornaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

25-30 ft tall by 15-25 ft wide

Life Span:

long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

red

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms in spring. Fruits ripen in fall. Life span potentially up to 125 yrs but usually much shorter in cultivation (Nelson 2003).

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Showy Fruits, Hurricane Wind Resistance, Fall Color

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen tree. It is known for its showy white "flowers" in the spring. What appears to be the flower petals are actually large bracts. The true flowers occur in a group in the center of the bracts. They are small and yellow-green.

Considerations:

Very sensitive to appropriate soils. Does poorly in neutral or alkaline soils. Dogwoods do not tolerate heavy foot traffic or extra soil piled around their root areas.

Light:

Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Somewhat moist, no flooding ---- to ---- Short very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Caterpillars, Birds, Mammals

Attracts long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, and butterflies. 





Larval host for cecropia silkmoth ( Hyalophora cecropia ) and spring azure butterfly ( Celastrina ladon ).  

 Birds and small mammals consume the fruit

Native Habitats:

Mesic hardwood forests, pine-oak-hickory woods, mesic longleaf pinelands.