The flowering stage is what distinguishes a dogwood tree from a dogwood bush. In the spring, a dogwood tree displays beautiful bracts, while a dogwood bush is grown for its foliage in the winter.
They flourish rapidly, bringing beauty to your landscape from spring through fall with their blooms, berries and brilliant foliage.
Whereas dogwood trees produce showy bracts, dogwood bushes do not. The blooms of these plants likewise follow the establishment of the leaves.
What are dogwood trees?
A dogwood tree is a member of the Cornaceae family and the Cornus genus. Flowers of various colors, including pink, yellow, and white, bloom among the lush green leaves.
Some dogwood trees can reach heights of 15 feet or more, while others resemble large bushes or even smaller trees. You can help them thrive by placing them in either partial shade or full sun.
Where do dogwoods grow?
Dogwood trees are present in both temperate and tropical regions. Certain dogwood from other countries is imported to the United States due to its greater disease resistance.
Unlike their North American counterparts, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese dogwood trees are more resistant to powdery mildew and dogwood anthracnose.
To those of you living outside of the United States, many dogwoods thrive in temperatures ranging from 30°F to +30°F during the winter. Some dogwood species may do better in hotter or colder hardiness zones.
Types of Dogwood Trees
Dogwood trees come in a wide variety, each with its own distinctive look thanks to their berries, flowers and leaves.
- Siberian dogwood:
This white dogwood, also known as Siberian dogwood, has green leaves and red stems in the winter and white bracts on its blossoms in the spring.
- Cornelian cherry dogwood:
The red fruits they produce are delicious and useful in baking and cooking. Many dogwoods produce fruits and berries, but only the Cornelian cherry is truly delicious.
- Pagoda dogwood:
Instead of growing in parallel, the leaves on this tree alternate between the spring and fall seasons along each stem. You may assist these trees in reaching their full growth potential by mulching them.
- Flowering dogwood:
These trees have showy bracts surrounding their brightly colored flowers, which are either bright yellow or vibrant white. Soil with a mild acidity is ideal for their growth.
- Kousa dogwood:
In order to get higher disease resistance, many people in North America import these trees from Japan and China.
- Red osier dogwood:
Trees with white drupe berries and occasionally variegated leaves stand out just as much as those with red twigs.
- Canadian bunchberry dogwood:
The dark green leaves, small white blooms and bright red berries that these trees produce make for a visually striking display. The berries appear after the flowers fade in the middle to late summer.
- Gray dogwood:
This type of dogwood is more bushy than tree-like in appearance. Because it is found in the northern parts of Canada and the US, it is sometimes called the northern swamp dogwood.
Dogwood bush
A dogwood bush will flourish rapidly, bringing beauty to your landscape from spring through fall with its blooms, berries, and brilliant foliage.
Whereas dogwood trees produce showy bracts, dogwood bushes do not. They, too, bloom once their foliage has matured. Therefore, you should not anticipate them to be as eye-catching as dogwood trees.
The beauty they provide in winter is why several different kinds of dogwood bush are produced.
In the stark backyard of winter, the bright red stalks stand out. You can pick a dogwood bush that suits your yard from several species and dozens of cultivars available.
Keeping a dogwood bush healthy is a breeze. Bushes thrive in a wide range of lighting conditions, from direct sunlight to heavy shade. Dogwood bushes require both full or partial sunlight and moist soil to thrive.
Dogwood plants should be planted in the late spring or early summer. The first growing season of the plants requires regular and immediate irrigation. Mulching the root zone is an effective way to keep the soil moist.
Where is the best place to plant a dogwood bush?
Your dogwood will thrive in a well-drained, but not too dry, location. Organically rich soil is ideal.
Dogwoods do well in either full sun or partial shade, though they do especially well in partial shade that gets morning sun. In the wild, dogwoods often grow underwood.
Conclusion
You can always find a dogwood that is the right size, whether you need it to be a few feet tall or fifteen feet tall. These plants also produce flowers and fruits, though some of the fruits are poisonous.