Cornus kousa
Common name: Japanese flowering dogwood
Japanese flowering dogwood bears white, star-shaped blooms which appear later in spring than the flowers on other dogwoods. Fall foliage is purplish-red. The red berries of Cornus kousa trees persist into winter.
Kousa dogwood grows to an average height and spread of fifteen to thirty feet. Young trees have a vase-shaped form, but in older trees growth shows more horizontal spread and the form becomes rounded. This tree grows at a slow to moderate rate, average ten feet in fifteen years.
Kousa dogwoods are more resistant than flowering dogwood to dogwood anthracnose and powdery mildew. They are also more resistant to borers than flowering dogwood.
Japanese flowering dogwood does not tolerate drought, so irrigate deeply during dry weather. It can grow in full sun to light shade. Ideal soil is moist but well-drained, fertile, and slightly acidic. Kousa dogwood is hardy in zones 5 - 8.
Cultivars:
'Akabana' - pink flowers, variegated foliage
'Autumn Rose' - white flowers, yellow spring foliage, pink to light red fall foliage
'Baby Splash' - white flowers, dwarf form, variegate foliage
'Beni Fuji' - deep red-pink flowers
'Blue Shadow' - white flowers, strong red fall foliage
'Bon Fire' - white flowers, yellow variegated summer foliage
'China Girl' - large white flowers, early flowering, good fall color
'Gold Star' - white flowers, broad gold band in the center of each leaf
'Lusigarten' - white flowers, weeping form, low growing
'Milky Way' - white flowers produced so heavily that they can conceal the tree's foliage
'Moonbeam' - white seven to eight-inch flowers
'Summer Stars' - white flowers, reddish-purple fall foliage
'National' - large white flowers, vase shape growth
'Madame Butterfly' - white flowers with heavy flower production. The flowers turn vertical, looking like butterfly wings
'Snowboy' - white flowers, green-gray leaves edged in white. Color best in shade.
'Wolf Eyes' - white flowers, leaves have a uniform white margin and wavy edges, pink to red fall color
