Cornus capitata

Sunset

Cornus kousa

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Zones 8, 9, 14-20, 31

Full, Partial

Moderate

Evergreen Dogwood
Cornaceae
Evergreen, Trees, Semi-evergreen

CORNUS

All dogwoods offer attractive foliage and blossoms; some have spectacular fruit or winter bark. Leaves of many types turn brilliant colors in fall. What appear to be flower petals in many dogwoods are actually bracts—petal-like modified leaves. These surround the inconspicuous true flowers.

Cornus capitata

Himalayan native hardy to 15°F/-9°C. Not reliably evergreen; may drop all its leaves in cold weather, and often loses half of them in mild winters. To 20-30 ft. tall and wide, with 2 to 4-in.-long, gray-green leaves; some turn red or purplish in fall.

Unless grown from cuttings, trees don't flower until 8 to 10 years old, but when they do bloom, they are delightful. Small springtime clusters of flowers are surrounded by four to six 1-1/2-in. to 2-in. creamy to pale yellow bracts. Large (1-in.), showy, strawberrylike crimsonfruit in fall can be a litter problem, though birds may do some of the cleanup for you.