Pic is an awesome photo of Appalachian red buds that really pop against that blue building. Not my house lol

Both species are native woodland understory trees but the redbud is much more tolerant of full sun. Dogwoods tend to react poorly in full sun and high summer heat, tightly curling their leaves and letting them droop down. Afternoon shade at the very least is preferred.

Just do it.

Years ago, they were recommending planting dogwoods in full sun in the Mid-Atlantic because it helped reduce the chance of anthracose. They did not keel over and die.

Understand that in the comparative scheme of things, Philly isn't really that hot. I've spent more days in Chicago when the temperature has been over 100 than Philadelphia. That works out to about ten days vs. about ten years.

Yeah mad gallica I am at that point. Sometimes hearing success stories helps follow through. I know dogwood likes certain a soils so if I can have the right soil that’s is an added benefit.

Regarding the soil, this is definitely an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' issue. For one thing, when planting, if you are messing around with the soil, you want to mess around with ALL the soil the plant is going to come into contact with. This is perfectly doable for something like lettuce, but gets a lot tougher when dealing with a tree. The second thing is that you should already have perfectly reasonable dogwood soil. That's one of the points of planting natives.

Hi Jim,

Stick with the Kousa and or Rutger's Hybrids for dogwoods, especially in a full sun location. I'm in Montgomery County, PA and all of my flowering dogwoods (6 total) have succumbed to anthracnose. I've replaced them with several generic Kousa's and a couple of Rutger's Hybrids and so far they are doing well.

They prefer a slightly acidic well draining soil with plenty of organic matter. Young container specimens will need regular watering for the first 2-3 yrs until their root system develops and occasional watering during drought situations thereafter. They do not like to have wet feet so site in a well draining area with no standing/flood water.

Link:

https://agproducts.rutgers.edu/dogwood/varieties.html

There is a new variegated form of Celestial(Celestial Shadow), the foliage resembles a tri-color beech. Also, if you still looking for a more upright Nyssa, check with Paxson Hill, they carry Sheri's Cloud Variegated with striking pink/red fall foliage, like the tri colored beech. 30-40ft tall x 18-20' wide.

Paxson Hill Farms and your recommended Tree Authority both have a good selection.

Regards,

Will

The term 'Full sun' is thrown around rather loosely.

6 hr./day direct sun technically is considered full sun but then so is 12 hr./day.

I'm sure the temperature/stress difference for the plant is substantial between the two.

Afternoon sun is the hottest time of the day so afternoon shade would be a big part of the equation imo.

At my old place out in the country, we had tall evergreen trees lining both E/W sides of the yard, which limited direct sun to about 8 hr./day. Which for some plants can be too much.

:^)

We’re talking 12 hrs at my house in this area

" We’re talking 12 hrs at my house in this area "

The dogwood will hate that!!

cercis canendensis... if that is what you are calling a AMERICAN RB.. considering it has canada right in its name.. is only shade TOLERANT.. it does fine in full sun in my z5 MI ... maybe its different in your zone ...

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=define+canendensis&t=ffab&ia=web

btw.. the pic looks photo shopped or color enhanced ... or its a camera trick due to the color of the building ...

every dogwood i ever bought failed.. so i have no opinion on such ... besides as a race.. i hate them all... its personal now.. lol ...

ken

FWIW, I'm in western NC, which is also zone 7A but considerably hotter than my short experiences in Philly.

I have several dogwoods on my property. One was planted before I bought the place, and since then I have 4 or 5 that grew wild. They're all in full sun, direct heat from morning to night! With mostly red clay soil.

Growing up, we had a few dogwoods on my parent's property, too. I assume they grew wild because I can't ever remember them planting anything outside of the veggie garden, and they're all still there.

So full sun like that may not be ideal for them, but I've never had any problems other than maybe some browning of the leaves. Before reading this thread, I would have said that 12 hours of direct sun was perfect for them! LOL

You can see one of my dogwoods here, taken last year (ignore the weeds, it's a work in progress):

The same one in bloom several years ago:

And I think these are Eastern Redbuds, growing in full sun in my downtown:

The forms of dogwoods and redbuds are so different. If you decide both will make it, focus on that to make your choice.

I have all of these in full blazing sun and everything does just fine- several varieties of Cercis, as well as kousa, alternifolia, and florida dogwoods.

I do water copiously when the sky does not.

Hi James- I’m a little late to this thread but wanted to share my experience. I planted four Cherokee Princess Dogwood and Cherokee Brave Dogwoods. One in partial shade and three in full sun. The leaves through the season for the one in partial shade were robust, large and full. However, the dogwoods in full sun mostly stayed curled. And it made me worry. But now in the winter/ I see that the ones in full sun are full of flower buds- copious and full abundance. The one in partial shade also has flower buds but less than half of what the ones in full sun have. The Cherokee series is a cultivar of Cornish Florida and they are supposed to be disease resistant. How has your experience been.. (I’m in Princeton NJ- Zone 6B)

If you want success, plant the redbud:)

I ended up getting an appalachian red redbud. Had to make a little drive out to Lancaster to get one. All balled and bur-lapped unfortunately but I got it in the ground. I still may try and sneak a dogwood somewhere but not in full sun. I liked the celestial shadow dogwood Will mentioned in the comments and the place I get most of my trees just got in some cloud 9 dogwoods which I have never seen locally over the years. I personally am not a huge fan of the Rutgers dogwoods. They serve a good purpose but they aren’t for me.

I had a old, large, mature redbud at my other house that was in full sun until mid-evening when the house next door blocked the western sun as it was on its descent. I did fine -- more than fine, it thrived. It came with the house, so I have no idea whether it was the straight C. canadensis or a fancy cultivar, but it was a beautiful tree. I'd like to get one for this house. I think you made a good choice.

Yeah there is beautiful one a street over from me in full sun. I also planted a nyssa sylvatica near by that will eventually offer a few hours of shade mid day as it grows

Looking good in year two in the yard