The experts weigh in on which varieties of this large genus are sure to be a gardener’s best friend
The fast way to start a horticultural solid food combat is to lock eight industrial plant geeks in a way and ask a simple question : “ What ’s the best dogwood out there ? ” Even those who have literally write the book on the subject are give no quartern . Out come the rotten lettuce and love apple . To many , of course of study , “ cornel ” means just one thing : cornu florida . But that view is as narrow as Saul Steinberg ’s 1976 natural language - in - cheekNew Yorkercover that show New York City as the nub of the world , with everything else summarily disappear into one - point perspective . Even the common name , flowering cornel , is unpardonably presumptive . I can just hear the other dogwood protesting in the corner as the decaying produce flies overhead .
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Dogwoods are a diverse and wide-ranging radical . Indeed , can you name another genus that includes not only all the shrub and tree diagram forms we know and love but also an herbaceous recurrent ( C. canadensis , Zones 2–6 ) , an evergreen plant tree diagram ( C. elliptica , Zones 7–9 ) , and both opposite- and alternating - leaved species ? They pasture across the northern hemisphere from Mexico to the Arctic Circle and are present in much of Europe and Asia — even into the northwestern hint of Iran . Rather than take all the hate mail myself for leaving out the gazillion or so dogwoods that did n’t make the baseball swing , I reached out to a fistful of my fellow worker to put together a grampus tilt of dogwoods worth grow .
Common species offer exciting options
Let ’s just get this one out of the way right off the bat : In the most - beautiful - small - tree - in - flower contest , it is hard to stick flowering dogwood tree regardless of which cultivar you pick . The arresting , layered branching clothed in big , billowy white or pink rosiness has inspired gardeners , poet , musicians , and aspiring grooms from time immemorial . It ’s a talent from heaven where you could grow it , but a unredeemed beast where you ca n’t . Famed British nurseryman Christopher Lloyd once opined on grow flowering dogwood in heat - social unit - challenge England , “ I choose to visit it . ”
Plenty of flowering dogwoods are great, but ‘Appalachian Joy’ is one of the best
Name : C. florida‘Appalachian Joy ’
Zones:5–8
Size:25 foot tall and spacious
Conditions : Full Sunday to fond spectre ; moist , well - drained grease ; struggles with neutral or alkaline stain and too dry conditions
Native range : northerly Florida to eastern Texas and north to the southerly Great Lakes and southerly New England
While there were lots of opinions on this one from my chemical group , I gave the nod to Michael Dirr , Ph.D. , author of the essential Manual of Woody Landscape Plants , who recommends‘Appalachian Joy ’ flowering dogwood . “ I have found numerousC. floridaseedlings and watched most die , ” he says . “ Leaf spot , canker , borers , drought , etc . , too often win the day . At the University of Georgia , I test the Appalachian series and added ‘ Appalachian Joy ’ to our garden — consistently outstanding . Clean foliage , great fall colour , no foliage spot / anthracnose , respectable peak , and , for whatever intellect , no fruit . ” And while I ’m not bewilder any Lycopersicon esculentum at the dear medico , I have to add together that ‘ Appalachian Spring ’ is the dear performer in Kentucky .
Scarlet Fire®kousa dogwood adds consistent color to its big blooms
Name : C. kousa‘Rutpink ’
Conditions : Full sun to partial spook ; moist , well - drained dirt ; more drought and heat tolerant and pH adaptable thanC. florida
Native range : Korea , Japan , and China
exchangeable in size to flowering dogwood but typically more rounded or vase shaped , kousa dogwood is a later - blooming Asian coinage that contribute attractive , exfoliate barque , slightly just heat and drought tolerance , and fruit that looks like somewhat overinflated raspberries ( some not too spoiled tasting , by the way ) . One of the drawbacks of seedling kousas is that they can have a tendency to be substitute - year florescence , so it is normally good to go with a well - tested cultivar . For Rich Hesselein , the chair of Pleasant Run Nursery in Allentown , New Jersey , a newer selection not to be croak up isScarlet Fire ® kousa dogwood . Rich depict this one as “ the most consistent and deepest pink – bracted kousa cornel on the market . ” While most pink - reddened kousa dogwoods are more of a “ Gee , I wish I could be pinkish , ” Scarlet Fire ® is the real deal . bass , fat , pinkish - crimson blooms appear just after the leaves and retain their vividness when all others speedily fade to E. B. White .
If you thought pagoda dogwoods couldn’t get any prettier, check out Gold Bullion™
Name : C. alternifolia‘Bachone ’
zona : 3–7
Size:15 to 25 feet tall and wide-eyed
condition : Full sun to fond shade ; moist , well - drain , acidulous dirt ( but is moderately pH adaptable )
aboriginal range : Georgia to Newfoundland and across to the Mississippi River washbasin
I was delighted to get a good word from North Country tree guru Kris Bachtell , the vice president of collections and facilities at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle , Illinois , whose pick is pagoda dogwood . It is an “ excellent understory tree diagram that does just as well out in the open ( in northern climates , anyway ) with beautiful branching , glossy , deep burgundy stem , blank summer blooms , and deep crimson fall color . ” What Kris is too modest to sum is that he is creditworthy for introducingGold Bullion ™ pagoda dogwood , whose yellow green - gold foliage is hard to nonplus . I ’ve grown it in my garden in a cobalt blue ceramic container for several long time for a stunning effect . One caveat : afternoon shade is critical in the southerly part of this tree ’s growing stove .
‘Hedgerows Gold’ red osier dogwood has four-season interest
Name : C. sericea‘Hedgerows Gold ’
Zones:3–8
Size:5 to 8 fundament improbable and wide
Photo: DoreenWynja.com
Conditions : Full Lord’s Day to fond shade ; average soil , but avoid ill drained soil that can lead to stem canker problems
Native range : Northern North America
For those looking for a shrub , Richie Steffen , the executive theatre director of the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle , gives us his recommendation:‘Hedgerows amber ’ red osier dogwood tree . “ It ’s a standard in our sphere and a local selection made in Oregon . A great robust grower with beautiful Au - and - unripe foliage and burnished crimson stem in winter . ” I have to say that I ’ve grow this in my humid Kentucky garden , and it was overlay with powdery mold . But a few years ago on a trip to Seattle , I sat in a friend ’s garden drooling with enviousness at the sight of a arresting specimen with brightly variegated parting that were fresh as a whistle .
Photo: DoreenWynja.com
Opting for rarer species yields interesting results
‘Compressa’ bloodtwig dogwood has the coolest foliage in the genus
Name : C. sanguinea‘Compressa ’
Zones:2–7
Size:5 to 6 feet tall and 2 to 3 base wide
Photo: courtesy of Spring Hill Nursery
Conditions : Full sun to partial shade ; widely adaptable to a extensive chain of mountains of filth eccentric ; fairly drouth tolerant and pH adaptable
Native range : Northern Europe and western Asia
In the “ now for something altogether different ” family , Andy Brand , conservator of living collection at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay , Maine , put his northern New England chapeau on and suggested‘Compressa ’ bloodtwig dogwood tree : “ I am always looking for plants that add interest to the garden for as many months as possible . While many cornel are develop for their floral display , this shrub is amazing through spring and summer , bearing leaves with an over-the-top puckered appearance and that feel almost like plastic . As temperatures chill off in fall , the leave-taking change state beautiful spectre of burgundy . Once the leave drop , reddish stems add wintertime stake . This foul foliage flora will be a unique vertical dialect in the garden . ” It is difficult to improve on that , except to note that ‘ Compressa ’ also has impressive cold-blooded hardiness .
Photo: Adam R. Wheeler/Broken Arrow Nursery
‘Cayenne’ silky dogwood is the toughest of the pack
Name : C. amomum‘Cayenne ’
Zones:4–8
Size:6 to 8 foot tall and 10 to 12 foot wide
Photo: Jonathan Need/gapphotos.com
Conditions : Full sun ; adaptable to a wide range of soils ; fairly drought tolerant and pH adaptable
aboriginal reach : Eastern North America
ask someone to recommend the best dogwood for Oklahoma might seem a mean gag . The state ’s soil pH is high , and its clime is so intriguing — with both summer heat and winter frigidity — that it can be quite difficult to cultivate a quality specimen . But Todd Lasseigne , former executive theater director of the Tulsa Botanical Garden , has never shy out from a formidable assignment . He recommends‘Cayenne ’ silky dogwood tree : “ It has twigs that are n’t as bright as I would like them to be in wintertime — Tulsa might be too far south — but the works perform commendable in a tough land site : southwestern full - Lord’s Day exposure , the bottom of a Alfred Hawthorne where water pools , silty - muck - deposit soil , and otherwise filthy conditions . The foliage is a bright , respectable green , and otherwise the plants are doing their task mostly as advertised . ” Sometimes you just need a really tough industrial plant .
Photo: Martin Hughes-Jones/gapphotos.com
‘Kintoki’ Japanese cornel dogwood is the best for yellow blooms
Name : C. officinalis‘Kintoki ’
Zones:3–7
circumstance : Full sun ; adaptable to a wide chain of mountains of dirt types ; reasonably drought tolerant once establish
Photo: Danielle Sherry
Native range of mountains : Japan , China , and Korea
I ca n’t decide if I was surprised or not that there was one recommendation that could n’t be attributed to any one expert because it was on several lists including my own:‘Kintoki ’ Nipponese cornel dogwood tree . Similar to the well - have intercourse cornelian cherry ( C. mummy , Zones 4–8 ) , ‘ Kintoki ’ is a large shrub or small tree best known for early spring mint of splendid yellowed efflorescence followed by stunning reddish , cherry - similar fruit . Michael Dirr discover it as performing better than cornelian cherry in the hotness of Georgia . Rich Hesselein added it to his inclination as far superscript to cornelian cherry . In my own experience at Yew Dell Botanical Gardens in Kentucky , there ’s no comparison , with ‘ Kintoki ’ offering glossier summer leaf , showier exfoliate barque , and more uniform growth .
Paul E. Cappiello , Ph.D. , is the executive film director of Yew Dell Botanical Gardens in Crestwood , Kentucky , and a co - author ofDogwoods : The Genus Cornus .
Photo: courtesy of Plantography/Alamy Stock Photo
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