Flowering Dogwood Tree Facts

A showy deciduous tree that is well-known and widely planted throughout America has the honor of being the state tree of Missouri, memorial tree of New Jersey, and state flower of Virginia and North Carolina . Flowering dogwood tree's scientific name is Cornus florida. Let's see what is interesting about this tree.

Facts about Flowering Dogwood

One of the ornamental trees for landscaping, a flowering dogwood is a small deciduous tree that grows about 30 ft in height with a crown spread of 35 ft depending on the cultivator. The trees natural shape is very alluring with a short trunk and lateral branches that make it appear multi-layered. Under suitable climatic conditions, this moderate grower will live up to 80 years. As said earlier the tree is a visual treat, with spring bringing with it clusters of flowers in colors of white, yellow, red or pink, that blooms continuously for a period of 2-3 weeks. This flower show is followed by a summer of attractive bright green foliage, that turns a vivid red and purple in fall. The dogwood tree leaf grows to about five inches long and two inches wide. The undersides are a pale green, while the surface a shade darker. Shiny red fruits appear in autumn, followed by bare barks with next season's buds in winters. If you want to be picky about the color of your dogwood, then choose from following varieties: Pagoda dogwood, Cherokee Chief, Flowering dogwood, Carnelian Cherry, Japanese dogwood, Pacific dogwood, etc.

Dogwood Tree Care

Adequate care will help the tree to thrive with beautiful flowers and fall foliage. Flowering dogwoods are propagated through seeds as well as various techniques of grafting. In most cases, you may not get the exact tree characteristics as the mother plant, some variations in the size and color of the flower will occur. Pick a good quality variety from a reputed vendor. They should be planted in well dug up soil incorporated with lime, fertilizer and organic compost. Water the tree adequately in its first year, as they begin to mature, you can water as per need. Excessive water will damage its roots. They respond well to a regular mulch of a three to four layer of organic mulch. Choose from any type of mulch you want, and before getting on to it, learn how mulching is done. Dogwoods don't need heavy pruning. One can train them when they are young and prune them to remove injured, diseased, or insect-infested branches. Prune only in its dormant season, in winters when the branches are bare, and just before new buds begin to sprout.

Flowering Dogwood Diseases

One of the interesting facts about flowering dogwood is that the tree is very susceptible to diseases. The varied diseases attack almost every part of the dogwood; flowers, leaves, stems, trunk and roots. Common flower and leaf diseases are anthracnose and septoria leaf spot. Colored spots is the common symptom and as the disease progresses, the petals and/or leaf begin to turn yellow and curl. Infected new growth develops with distortion to its shape and color. Stems, trunk and roots can get infected by a number of fungus, that stunt the growth, result in poor flower and fall foliage show, or even kill the flowering dogwood. Most flowering dogwood diseases can be controlled by a regular spray of fungicides.

Dogwood tree adds its beauty to any landscape by being a true four season tree, so go ahead and plant this tree if you're looking to make your landscape one of the prettiest landscapes ever!