Dogwoods

Dogwoods are understory trees native to many places in the world. Dawn Gardens has 10 different varieties mostly planted on the south side of the house in the Heather garden on the slope.

The following is a video of the Dogwood garden at Dawn Gardens. Video was taken on April 22, 2019.

The following video was taken on October 12, 2020 of the same area as the previous video showing the change between spring and fall.

Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) is native to the Sierras and the Sierra foothills and up to British Columbia.

Pacific Dogwood flower closeup shows 4 white bracts – the flowers are the tiny yellow stamens in the center. It blooms in April.

Same tree in the fall.

The Pacific Coast Dogwood is the perfect understory tree in the garden but it can eventually reach 40-50’.

Cornus Florida is the Eastern Dogwood; it is usually white with smaller flowers and lower stature than the Pacific Dogwood but there are cultivars with pink flowers:

Pink Eastern Dogwood (Cornus florida ‘Rubra’)

Cherokee Chief Eastern Dogwood (Cornus Florida ‘Cherokee Chief’). These also bloom in April.

Fall color of Eastern Dogwood.

Cornus ‘Eddie’s White Wonder’ is a hybrid between Cornus nuttallii and Cornus florida with larger flowers and more open branching.

Korean Dogwood (Cornus kousa) blooms in May and extends the Dogwood blooming season for another 4-6 weeks in the garden. The flowers are more profuse and longer lasting than the Pacific and the Eastern Dogwoods. The last photo was taken in the middle of July. The Korean Dogwood is more drought tolerant and has more spectacular fall color than the other Dogwoods.

Fall color of Korean Dogwood

This is the Korean Dogwood on August 1 showing the old flowers and the forming fruit which is edible.

Fruit of the Korean Dogwood

This is the fruit of the Pacific Dogwood.

Fall color of the Pacific Dogwood

There are several variegated Dogwoods such as this one, Cornus florida ‘Wolf Eyes’.

Cornus florida ‘Wolf Eyes’ fall color

Here is another variegated Dogwood, the Wedding Cake Dogwood (Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’.

Red Twig Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera ‘Cardinal’) is grown for its bright red branches in the winter. Its flowers are not as spectacular as the other Dogwoods but it is a good smaller plant (8-10’) for the winter garden.

Cornus omeiense ‘Summer Passion’ blooms in June.

Cornus ‘Empress of China’

From left to right: Cornus omeiensis ‘Summer Passion’, Cornus capitata, Cornus ‘Empress of China’

Evergreen Dogwood (Cornus capitata) about 12 years old at the top of the Dogwood garden. It blooms from beginning of May thru August.

These are Cornus capitata ‘Mountain Moon’. They are about 7 years old from 15 gal. cans.

Closeup of Evergreen Dogwood ‘Mountain Moon’.

Toward the end of the blooming season some of the Evergreen Dogwood flowers turn pink.

This video was taken on June 7 and the flowers should last into August so that is 5 months of bloom (March-August) from all the Dogwoods in the garden.

This photo was taken on July 19 and the Evergreen Dogwoods are still in bloom.