Gorgeous!

I planted one two years ago -- so this is its third season in the ground -- and it hasn't yet bloomed for me. It bloomed the year I bought it but nothing since. The tree itself looks healthy and is growing just fine. Does it take a couple years for it to get established enough to bloom? Or maybe it's just one of those finicky trees that will put out flowers when she feels like it?

I have found two things re these trees: they did take a few years to start blooming and a good bloom year seems to be followed by a poor bloom year. So patience would be my advice :-) Do you know what the name of yours is? I think our C. kousa that is blooming now is Milky Way. It usually starts producing round balls of fruit after the flowers but the squirrels take them as soon as they start to ripen!

I pulled out the tag from my binder, and all it says is Cornus kousa chinensis -- no cultivar name.

Saw a large multi-trunked specimen at the nursery one year that was loaded with fruit balls -- just fabulous!

It sounds like you have a good one - Chinese dogwood. Hopefully thatlink takes you to the MBG information on it....

Funny, I'm not a huge fan of kousas - growing up next door to the famous (well, at least locally famous lol) annual dogwood festival in Fairfield CT I tend to prefer the "regular" dogwoods (cornus florida, I think?)

But that being said, I have to admit that there have been a ton of kousas that have caught my eye this spring! Some of them are spectacular. And I don't know what cave I've been living in, but I didn't know till this spring that they came in pink lol. I don't recall ever seeing pink kousas and now I'm seeing many of them. I've gotta admit, pink or white, when they are smothered in blooms they are a sight to behold!

:)

Dee

I see them while driving around -- blooming right now. Gorgeous. Fruits in fall when a bit over-ripe are pleasant enough. Seemingly not hurt by the dogwood anthracnose.

I LOVE them too! What varieties of Kousa are both yours and your neighbor's? How large were the trees when you planted them and how long did it take to get to the size they are now? Do they produce large ball like fruit that falls under them? Do they have Fall color? Have they had any foliage issues, or pest issues? And have you given them any special treatment to grow so well?

One thing that has stopped me from using one, is that those I've seen locally, get pretty large and dense. I don't have a lot of room. I bought a hybrid of the native dogwood called 'Constellation' that I had seen at the Arnold Arboretum and loved and mine died one year for no reason I could tell. Very disappointed. I do also enjoy 'Wolf Eye's' because that foliage gives you all season interest.

pm2 - mine is Milky Way and I can never remember the name of the neighbour's tree. Milky Way was planted in 2003 and the neighbour's tree had been there for a year or two by then. The most magnificent dogwood we've seen is at a house about 10 minutes away. DH almost drove off the road when he saw this in 2019:

The house you can (barely) see in the background has been torn down and replaced with a bigger one. The tree still grows there. I have no idea how old it is but OMG it is beautiful! Our Milky Way is supposed to have good fall colour but doesn't. We've never timed it right to check whether the tree in the above picture has good fall colour!

As I mentioned on some other post, the Milky Way does fruit but the squirrels strip it bare pretty fast! So there has never been fruit on the ground. Neither we or the neighbours have done anything special to get the trees to grow and the trees have never (knock-on-wood!) had pest or disease problems.

Wolf Eyes is still pretty small. It was planted in 2016 to replace one that had died in a drier area. This picture is of it just leafing out in late May this year (you can see some of the white redbud flowers from the tree near this area):

Wow, Woody, that tree is un-believeable! lol

That Wolf's Eyes, is a nice shape already and brightens up the shade. I'm going to have to give some of the Kousas some serious thought.

White Redbud did you say? I didn't know there was such a thing.

I'm considering planting some flowering trees. In our area they are knocking houses down and building bigger ones too. I'm anticipating even less privacy than I have now on one side, and thinking about putting some trees to screen. I try to grow vegetables in the back, so I'm not sure if I am going to make another problem for myself. If I lived on a larger property, I would have been planting a lot more trees because I love them so much. I do love vegetable gardening too, though and right now shade and tree roots are an issue that I don't want to add to.

Wow, woodyoak, what a great tree! That is something! Not sure why they bothered replacing the house since you can't see it anyway, lol.

PM2 I feel your pain. I have so much shade, and I love it, but I do wish I had a bit more sun for some things.

:)

Dee

My kousa dogwood is 20 years old. It did not bloom for over 5 years but since it started I have loved it. It has a small red fruit that the birds and squirrels love. I do think it needs to be pruned but I’m afraid it will affect the following year’s bloom.

somewhere above on this thread someone asked what the name of the neighbor's dogwood is.... I finally remembered to ask her when I saw her this morning! It's a complicated story :-) The tag when they bought the tree said 'China Girl' but after growing it for a few years they concluded that it couldn't be that - I agree; if you look at pictures of that variety it has the same outward-pointed sepals on the flowers as our Milky Way does but the flowers on their tree have rounded sepals.... She says that after doing a bunch of research they now think it is Eddie's White Wonder. That one looks like a good possibility. It is not a C. kousa but, according to the linked article, is a cross of C. florida × C. nuttallii which was originated by nurseryman Henry M. Eddie of Vancouver, British Columbia. Commercially propagated since 1955, patented in 1964. So if anyone wants a tree that looks like theirs, that one is a good one to look for!

I am considering a CK for my front yard as a striking speicmen and can't decide which would best suit my Z5 climate (Southern Ontario, Canada). I beleive the milky way is hardy enough and perhaps Venus. A hardy pink flower variety would be neat too... Woodyoak, that pic is grogeous. What a specimen! Thansk for posting

Most seem to be listed as hardy to zone 5 so that shouldn't be an issue. For a long period of interest I might go for the variegated 'Wolf Eyes' since it is showy all summer from the leaves - it almost doesn't matter if it blooms or not! Mine is in the shade of White Pines so I'm not sure how it might fare (i.e. would the white edges of the leaves sunburn...?) in full sun - is your front garden in full sun? I'm not overly fond of the pink dogwood trees so I'd stick to a white type but, obviously, YMMV :-) I even have two white redbuds because I prefer that to the 'normal' pink/purple ones :-)

Venus is 25% western white dogwood and Eddie's White Wonder is 50%. I feel ilke own-root Venus have had a reputation of being tricky in east coast gardens. Even though it won the PHS medal in 2007. My own grew fairly vigorously, but died when I tried to move it...I cannot remember if I tried at a sensible time of year or not lol. One gardening mistake I only recently fully corrected was trying to move stuff when I knew better.

EWW, I tried at least once in my teen years and it died. Assuming because the Pacific dogwood hybrid wouldn't adopt to eastern conditions. Then in more recent years read surprising accounts of them being grown in TN, I think at the once famous 'Shadow' nursery. This was around the time I was figuring out how the key to rhododendron adoptability outside maritime climates could sometimes be grafting. I confirmed that Lucille Whitman grafts all her dogwoods on Kousa seedlings and tried again. NOW it was growing just fine! I suspect most PNW grown EWWs over the years were grown on C. nuttallii seedlings, which would explain why they died on the east coast. EWW is growing well so far through our recent hellishly humid (albeit only semi-hellishly hot) summers. Although it took an especially bad drubbing from the cicadas for some reason, and lost its whole leader which was about 3/8 caliper. So I think I will grow that over 'Venus' given its extreme scarcity on the east coast!

I had mentioned the extended fall redness of some DW hybrids on another couple threads, but while this one is up, will drop a picture from last weekend of Cornus 'Little Ruby'.

EDIT - picture accidentally deleted from smartphone will post another tomorrow!

were you able to get those pics?!

thanks

Kousa dogwoods with a massive fruit crop. Very ripe fruits have a strawberry-like taste.

What happens to all that fruit? I thought birds are only interested in the smallest berries? So does it attract wildlife, squirrels? Or do they just drop and have to be raked up? Are they like crabapples that you can make jelly with?

• "I thought birds are only interested in the smallest berries?" Birds - several dozen species - will eat most of them.
• "So does it attract wildlife, squirrels?" Yes, as well as foxes, racoons, skunks, chipmunks, rabbits, beavers and bears.
• "Or do they just drop and have to be raked up?" Some do but most are consumed by wildlife."
• "Are they like crabapples that you can make jelly with?" Kousa berries are completely edible and are made into jams, purees, baked goods and frozen yogurt or ice cream.

Without any flowering, it is impossible to tell. Seed grown kousas will take anywhere from 5-10 years before flowering..........

They are beautiful trees as long as you don't mind the ugly mass of brown flowers as they fade.

"They are beautiful trees as long as you don't mind the ugly mass of brown flowers as they fade."

I have never found this to be an issue. Flowering dogwoods tend to be self cleaning IME.

Ditto in my experience….

My sisters hung on the tree for days.

If you meant pic of Cornus 'Little Ruby', here it is

with shiny Koehne holly berries in the background. It's a little thin looking because I removed some branchlets damaged by cicadas.

And btw that was taken a day before the post, so, as of mid-December, it is still almost 100% in leaf, and they've been that red color for almost 2 months.

Just a pedantic FYI. The botanists and taxonomists have been playing with Cornus. Cornus kousa is now Benthamidia japonica.

And these ones are (IMHO), the equally beautiful Benthamidia capitata. (Although that tree in woodyoak's post is truly breathtaking!)

"Just a pedantic FYI. The botanists and taxonomists have been playing with Cornus. Cornus kousa is now Benthamidia japonica."

I'm not sure that is entirely official. All the taxonomy websites still show Cornus kousa as the current accepted taxonomy with Benthamidia japonica and Dendrobenthamia japonica only as accepted synonyms.

Happy to accept it as only a synonym! I've had to learn far too many name changes in my life.

Don't start me on Eucalyptus/Corymbia/Angophora!

I love Cornus and like many of you, prefer the white over the pink. I started out with a Cornus Rutgers 'Constellation'. I think I saw a mature specimen at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. Either that or I saw another Rutgers variety that I couldn't find and took the Constellation as a substitute. Started out as a small tree....

Grew to about this size in 2013.....

And then it was dead as a doornail one spring. *sigh* Since they were native, I was pretty surprised, and just figure it was because it was a hybrid. That was going to fill in that corner very nicely, and I've yet to replace it with another. A little late in the game to do it now.

I did add a Gray Dogwood to that corner and since then Blue Holly and Taxus have grown up to fill in that area, but....the Flowering dogwood would have been much better. I'll try to dig out a photo of what it looks like now, but I don't have time right now.

prairiemoon, the native eastern dogwood (Cornus florida) is and has been under attack for decades here in the east US. There aren't nearly as many now as decades ago (redbuds have taken over the mid-spring show). It's a rather severe form of anthracnose -- typically branches die one by one over a few years until the whole tree is dead. Trees in the open w/good air flow tend to resist the attacks better. AFAIK, Kousa dogwoods are resistant. My brother has a native eastern dogwood and Kousa side-by-side, and the native is in poor shape w/lower branches all dead, but the Kousa is in fine shape.

I have found that the fruit from our 25 year old, Zone 5 Kousa dogwood is so fertile that I have a half dozen starts to plant out or give away every year. I don’t know what cultivar it is (was here when we moved in), but it does take about five years for the new trees in light shade to bloom. Animals can’t keep up with the fruit production in a good bloom year.

Bengz - I never got notification there was another post here, sorry. Thanks so much for posting how the dogwoods are under attack. Yes, anthracnose, is something I've not heard of solutions for. I've seen a number of the Kousa in my area and they always look very vigorous and dense. The Kousa is from China, yes? I like the Wolf Eyes dogwood which I believe is variegated, but again, I'm pretty sure that one is a variety of Kousa. I may add another tree or two in the next season or two, but I haven't had the time to research it yet. But, maybe, I'm going to cross the dogwood off my list. [g]

Some of you (GG) don't care for the pink varieties of Kousa hybrids.. but has anyone any experience with this? Seems like a beauty! Scarlet Fire

I planted a 'Scarlet Fire' kousa several years ago, it is an odd pink color that clashes with the pink peonies growing nearby that bloom at the same time. Even if it didn't clash the color is still kind of weird looking to me. "Scarlet Fire' is not a hybrid kousa, it is a selection of the species.

About ten years ago I planted a hybrid florida x kousa 'Stellar Pink' or 'Rutgan' dogwood that is a washed - out pink color that blooms at the same time a nearby clematis 'Mayleen' is in bloom, and the warm pink color of the dogwood flowers near the cooler orchid-y pink flowers of the clematis is strange for me to look at together. I do like the structure of my 'Stellar Pink' tree, it is a good grower and the shape of it is attractive. I like both white and pink flowering dogwoods but the pink ones need to be planted either on their own and not close to any other plant that flowers at the same time. Pink dogwoods would work with white or probably cream colored flowering plants.

I too didn’t know there is a white redbud. But does it really bloom after dogwoods?

@Jeb Zone 5, so is the color in the pics not the same as what you experienced with your Scarlet Fire?

splaker - here is a picture of 'Scarlet Fire' that looks a little more realistic to me. Most of the pictures I found of it online look enhanced or adjusted, probably to sell it better. The color is a strange pink shade, and it is hard to work into the landscape because it tends to clash with everything that blooms at the same time. It makes a good amount of flowers, but the flowers have thin petals and do not look as full and wide as in many of the pictures that you see of it. That has been my experience anyway. I really like most flowering dogwoods and was excited when I first planted this one! 'Scarlet Fire' gets a 4 out of 10 from me.

This is a better representation of the color of 'Scarlet Fire' - this pic was found on the internet.

Thanks much.. looking for a really nice flowing tree for Z5 to plant off my deck. The Suans Magnolia is dead and need to remove it. It was planted too close to the deck, anyhow, by previous owners... I'd prefer something that gorws a bit taller than wide, so trees like Venus kousa, seem to "fat" for the site. I'll be close to a walkway that runs parallel to the deck so a wide-growing bush like tree isn't approrpriate.. I know that redbuds seem more amiable to pruning so i could plant one and limb it up. My cercis c grows really well here in Southern Ontario, Can. Maybe a crabapple but wouldn't they be messy in that spot? Also, short flowering season. Same with Serviceberry... you blink and their blow is done. That's what's appealing about Kousas.. they seem to hold their bloom longer from what I've read.

"I know that redbuds seem more amiable to pruning so i could plant one and limb it up."

I wouldn't put a redbud close to a walkway or deck -- their seedpods can be messy.

What about a Japanese lilac tree? (Syringa reticulata) I have a few of them, and they're lovely. Mine usually bloom late June or early July. The flower trusses are huge, and I enjoy the fragrance -- the fragrance isn't like that of a "regular" lilac and it's rather faint, but detectable by a good sniff nonetheless.

ETA link: Japanese tree lilac | The Morton Arboretum

@mxk3, thanks for the input.. Good points.. In general I have a lot of cleanup of plant debris. When do those pods drop? I don't know if it would make a huge difference either way. I've got a decent size yard with lots of work every season! The Japanese tree lilac is nice. But it is heavily planted here. Redbuds are rare. I like their form and they grow relatively fast. Any other suggestions?

Splaker, there is a redbud selection that has a beautiful chartreuse color (butter yellow-green) of emerging leaves that persists a long time until turning a pleasant darker green. There's one along a city street near me. Don't know the name of the selection tho. Below is a street-view of it after turning all green.

Splaker, you may be at the bottom end of its hardiness range but I'd look into the suitability of Stewartia pseudocamellia for a good smallish and rather narrowly upright growing tree. IMO, one of the best trees you can plant.......has virtually no pest or disease issues, blooms in early summer with a plethora of white, camellia looking flowers, gets great fall color and with age develops a zigzag branching structure and patchy, camouflage looking bark. Truly a 4 season tree!

Hey GG, i have one! so far it has survived. Our winters arent too harsh.. but some years, it can get down to as cold as -18 to -20 F.. that would be on the extreme end. it is going into it's 3rd year. Barely grows!

@Bengz, Hearts of Gold or Rising Sun? Im consisdering them. They grow fast

On the subject of pink kousas, I have always thought they looked unappealing, to put it mildly.

However when I visited Issima Plant Works and Sakonnet Garden in June of 2022, I couldn't believe how gorgeous the pink kousas along the coast of Rhode Island looked. I don't know what cultivars were involved but clearly they were 1) more commonly planted up there and 2)looked better in climates that stay 'chilly', by eastern US standards, in early summer...than they do anywhere around the mid-Atlantic. Of course this doesn't jibe with GG's account of not liking them in the PNW, but, first of all to each his or her own, second of all, there could be other temp, rainfall, or even soil differences at play. Maybe the PNW is too chilly, we're too warm, and coastal RI is just right? Around here all kousas seem to have their sepals quickly 'melt' from the June heat, it perhaps makes the pink ones uglier as they develop brownish off colors.

Splaker, this is a tall narrow rose of sharon 'Purple Pillar' that is sterile so it won't produce any seedlings (supposedly) - it grows 10 - 16 feet tall and 4 - 5 feet wide and grows more vertically than most cultivars.

Rose of sharon bloom during the mid summer when color is needed, the color of this is.. bright and kind of gaudy, but it could work in the right place.

https://www.bluestoneperennials.com/HIPP

While I don't mind some pink flowering trees - cherries, magnolias and crabapples (although I still would not have them in MY garden!) - the pink coloring of dogwoods is especially unappealing. It is always a muddy or washed out color that makes it look like it's sick.

To add to my list of trees /shrubs I really do not like, you can include Rose of Sharon. Messy, gaudy, late to leaf out and late to bloom. Not a plant I have ever included in a design!

I didn't say I liked rose of sharon either! I have never seen a rose of sharon growing anywhere and looking like it fit into the landscape. It is an old fashioned shrub, it is messy and most of them produce seedlings everywhere. I was looking at Bluestone's plants this afternoon and saw a flowering shrub that grew taller than it does wide - which seems to be what Splaker is looking for. Having a tree or shrub that comes into bloom late in the season isn't necessarily a bad thing.

There are a several plants, trees and shrubs I would consider "Monets" - good from afar, but far from good!

" Messy, gaudy, late to leaf out and late to bloom."

Agreed, and also incredibly invasive in parts of the eastern US. If people to have to 'rose of trailer trash Sharon' as I call it, at least plant the sterile cultivars!

The pink kousas of coastal RI seemed to have a very clear pink. Around here, it's the muddy or washed out look, too.

c.kousa ”Satomi”

i think it is pretty even if it is not ”very” pink pink