Dogwood, Pink Flowering

Pink Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida f. rubra)

A small woodland-edge tree with pink spring bracts, red autumn foliage, and red fruit for wildlife. The showy bracts surround the much smaller true flowers; the layered crown fits beneath larger trees where the soil drains well.

Key Characteristics

Leaves, Flowers, and a Woodland Food Web

Flowering dogwood is a host for spring azure butterfly caterpillars. Its true flowers supply pollen to specialist dogwood bees, including Andrena fragilis. Ruffed grouse, wild turkeys, and songbirds eat the red drupes, so a tree can support insects and birds at different points in the season.

Wood with a Useful History

The hard, close-grained wood has been used for textile shuttles, spools, and tool handles. In a garden, keep the tree as a living understory layer, with shrubs and leaf litter nearby to connect food and shelter.

Moist Roots, Good Drainage

Choose rich, slightly acidic soil and afternoon shade on warmer sites. Keep the roots evenly moist without placing the tree in a saturated drainage channel. Flowering dogwood can develop anthracnose, powdery mildew, and borers; good siting and protection from trunk injury matter more than a blanket disease-resistance promise.

Flowers and Wildlife Fruit

A companion is not needed for the spring bract display. Fruit set benefits from pollen from a genetically different flowering dogwood blooming at the same time; two plants of the same named clone do not add that diversity. The red fruits are wildlife food, rather than the edible Kousa dogwood crop.

Product Details

• Native species range: Southeastern Canada through eastern North America to eastern Mexico; cultivated forms represent selections of the species.
• Sun: Full sun to partial shade; afternoon shade is helpful in warm climates.
• Soil: Medium moisture, rich and well-drained; avoid waterlogged sites.
• Mature height: 15–25 feet
• Bloom: April–May locally; timing varies with climate.
• Bract color: Pink
• Hardiness: USDA zones 5–9.

Planting and Ongoing Care

Water the root ball thoroughly at planting, keep mulch away from the trunk or crown, and water through dry spells while roots establish. Check for circling roots before planting and protect the root zone from mowing damage.