Flowering dogwood
Flowering dogwood of the genus ‘Cornus’ can give your garden high ornamental value. With their large cream-white to pink-red flowers - which are actually bracts - their brilliant appearance begins in spring and finally ends in autumn with a beautiful coloured foliage. There is also the added bonus that this noble garden shrub has small red fruits that look like raspberries. The actual flowers appear in small, spherical inflorescences. If you plant a flowering dogwood, this can provide you with a long lasting plant, depending on the origin and variety, but the ornamental shrubs grow rather slowly.
These attractive shrubs work best on a free solitary location. But they are also great grown in the vicinity of perennial plants such as lupines or larkspur, when a flower dogwood banner provides a beautiful eye-catcher. The Japanese flowering dogwood cornus kousa and the Chinese flowering dogwood cornus kousa varieties both have numerous, distinctive flowers in the early summer. The American dogwood Cornus florida rubra, shows its beautiful pink flowers from April and grows tree-like.
Flowering Dogwood In The Lubera Online Garden Shop
In our shop you will find not only the original species but also attractive varieties such as Cornus kousa 'Satomi' with bright red bracts, which remains slightly smaller with a stature height of about 3 metre. Another special feature is Cornus Venus - this flower dogwood scores with a great disease resistance.
Cornus kousa chinensis is very attractive due to its large, white flowers
From £26.90 *
Japanese Flowering Dogwood 'Milky Way' forms large, attractive flowers in May and June
£26.90 *
Planting Flowering Dogwood - Suitable Locations
Give your flowering dogwood enough space to fully unfold its elegant crown. The loose, floor-like growth habit with horizontal branches should also be optimally emphasized. Depending on the species and variety, the trees are up to six metres high and almost as wide - so you should allow this place.
In order for your dogwood to thrive well, it needs a suitable soil substrate. The soil should have the following characteristics:
• humos
• not too hard
• good nutrient content
• slightly acidic or neutral
• good permeability
The Japanese and Chinese flowering dogwood and the variety 'Venus' tolerate a loamier, slightly calcareous soil better than the American variant 'Cornus florida'. Calcareous soils can generally lead to discolouration and insufficient growth. Furthermore, flowering dogwoods like to stand in a somewhat sheltered, serene location with high humidity. Basically, coastal locations (northern Germany) may be in full sun - in southern central Europe, the location should tend to be in partial shade.
Planting Dogwood
The bale of the ornamental shrub should not be deeply planted - it may even protrude slightly out of the ground so that enough air gets to the roots. A heavy soil should be improved before planting with sand, compost or rhododendron soil.
Flowering Dogwood In Containers
Some varieties of the flowering dogwood grow rather moderately (eg Cornus kousa 'Satomi') and are thus suitable for planting in a container - at least in the first years. The planter should, however, be sized as large as possible, so that the roots can spread unhindered.
Cultivating Flowering Dogwood
To keep the moisture in the soil, mulching around the shrub is recommended. On dry days, the flower dogwood should receive enough water, because it does not tolerate drought so well. Additional fertilisation is not required.
Cutting Flowering Dogwood
Flowering dogwood does not need to be cut. The only exception is possibly the variety 'Venus', as this shows a rather weak branching. A careful pruning in the spring encourages the formation of a denser crown. With container planting, you can also cut to shape.
Fruits Of The Flowering Dogwood
The fruits of Cornus kousa look delicious, because they are reminiscent of raspberries, but unfortunately often rather bland in the taste. In East Asia, they are still eaten raw and cooked – but making the liqueur could be worth a try!