- Hardiness Zones: 4-8
- Mature Size: 20' tall & wide
- Habit: Oval-rounded
- Growth Rate: Medium
- Bark: Exfoliating, flaky with gray-brown colors
- Leaf Color: Dark green and glossy
- Fall Color: Variable, can be purple-red but leaves may drop green too in late fall
- Flowers: Yellow in March before leaves; a sign that spring has arrived
- Fruit: Bright cherry-red oblong drupe in July; have seen the fruit used for jelly, jam, and to make wine
- Disease & Insect Problems: None serious
- Culture: Adaptable to varying soil types and pH; best in well-drained rich soil; full sun to partial shade
- Recommended Cultivars (if any):
‘Golden Glory’---more upright and profuse flowering than species; purple-red fall color
‘Redstone’---abundant large red fruit
‘Variegata’---showy bark; variegated white-green foliage; red fall color
Author Notes: An excellent small ornamental tree or large ornamental shrub. A very durable and underutilized dogwood, it is typically multi-trunked with branching close to the ground. It is effective as a screen, hedge, or border and superb as an early spring flowering specimen.