I don't haVE a ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION But I did see one or more here 40 miles west of Chicago here in ALDI's for 4 or 5 dollers.

I didn't Know about this section of the forum until today

hello,
I have a Cornus Kousa in my yard. Bought it cheap about 5 years ago. It was about 4' at the time. It seems pretty happy where it is, as it is now about 10' tall and getting some nice banching going. Looks to be getting lots of flowers this year, too. Kousa is not known for its hardiness, so I feel lucky in that aspect. I would normally recommend Pagoda or Cornelian Cherry first. All great trees.

thanks, in further research I haven't seen any real negatives, so I'm going to go for two more flowering ones & I'll just hope for the best.

Have Kousa, Pagoda and Cornelian Cherry. I love them all but the Cornelian Cherry takes the cake for hardiness, form and winter interest - what a great tree!

I live west of Chicago and planted two Kousa dogwoods and they didn't make it through the Winter. I'm curious as to the others who have sucess as to where they planted their dogwoods ie...NW, SW, etc..? I planted mine on the NW corner of our house. It was probably a poor spot. Now I have a Bradford pear there instead. I was getting tired of the dead dogwoods!

hmm, my flowering dogwood is in the NW corner of my lot, but it's also shielded from bad winds by a high fence on the W, a garage on the N, and a shed on the E, so that might be helping it survive the brutal cold snaps we get off of Lake Michigan.

They are definitely understory trees so it's good to put them in a protected or semi shady location. Mine are southwest exposure but planted under a boxelder and in the "L" of the corner of the fence. Although we are zone 5 here in Indy, I think we are definitely milder...more 5b or even 6a...so that could surely add to my success w/ Kousas.

ahh, I think CHicago is right at the top of 5, so that must be helping.