Plant Encyclopedia

Other Names:  Hybrid Dogwood

Description:

A fabulous hybrid covered with huge white blooms in spring, and foliage that changes to a rich red in the fall; vigorous grower with an erect habit and slightly pendulous branches makes it a great choice for a front yard accent tree

Ornamental Features

Venus Flowering Dogwood is smothered in stunning clusters of white flowers with white bracts held atop the branches in late spring. It has attractive dark green deciduous foliage. The pointy leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding red in the fall. It features an abundance of magnificent red berries in late fall. The peeling gray bark and antique red branches are extremely showy and add significant winter interest.

Landscape Attributes

Venus Flowering Dogwood is a deciduous tree with a stunning habit of growth which features almost oriental horizontally-tiered branches. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Venus Flowering Dogwood is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade

Planting & Growing

Venus Flowering Dogwood will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.