Avoid foraging or consuming any dogwood berries unless you are certain they are suitable for human consumption. As a member of the Swida subspecies, the fruit that the common Dogwood produces should not be consumed by humans. As summer gets hotter, the flowers will transform into pinkish-red fruits that will mature by fall. This is another type of Dogwood that does particularly well in shadier areas, though you can enjoy more blooms and berries if you decide to plant it in a location that receives full direct sunlight. Unfortunately, the berries found on some dogwood variants are not considered edible, and some are even regarded as poisonous. It earned its name from the gray hue of its leaves, although they typically feature other colors. Unlike many of the other dogwoods mentioned thus far, the fruit that the cornelian cherry produces is edible. In late summer, the leaves turn dark red and bright red berries appear in place of the flowers. Fall foliage is sometimes an attractive red-purple. The tree is identified by its vase habit that becomes rounded with age. In areas where anthracnose is a problem, plant kousa or Cornelian cherry dogwood instead. In the early spring, this lovely plant blooms with white flowers. You can use the cherry-like fruit in preserves. Diseases and pests: Few pest or disease problems. The seeds are exceedingly hard, with an oval shape, looking like a long grape seed. Flowering dogwoods fruit is harmful to humans, but the tree is a good garden ornament. Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! 2023 Gardening Know How, Future US LLC, Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036. Silky dogwood is a large to medium-sized native shrub with creamy white spring flowers , dark green foliage, and reddish stems and burgundy fall color. In fact, the bark looks like nearly uniform square scales. Older trees with patched bark may begin to peel. Look for types that are advertised as having a moderate growth rate rather than a high growth rate. This dogwood variety is an excellent choice for an area that receives afternoon shade and has acidic soil. Red dogwood berries are a type of aggregate fruit like blackberries or raspberries. Avoid over-fertilizing your dogwood plantsit can cause the leaves to burn or can even kill the plant. Size: 6 to 8 feet tall and 10 to 12 feet wide. It may also form colonies in your yard viasuckers. The small white flowers appear in clusters called cymes, and have an unpleasant odor. Most dogwood berries are popular as food amongst birds and other wild animals, and some are also edible for humans. The berries are also eaten by mammals, including squirrels, and the seeds have even been found in bear scat. Their white blossoms appear in the spring, while the red berries appear in the fall. Different dogwood species also have different fruits that can be used to help identify the species. If you're not 100 percent certain . Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) tree and flowers. Fruit, cone, nut, and seed descriptions: Attractive fruit is porcelain blue with white blotches, ripening in late summer. Dogwood trees are a type of deciduous flowering tree which produce berries that are notoriously popular as a food source for birds. This shrub has tan or gray bark that has a mottled, exfoliating texture that can be quite attractive in winter. While there are 17 types of dogwoods native to North America, the following 12 varieties are most commonly found. If you plant kousa dogwood as a fruit source for birds, steer away from the Stellar series, such as Stellar Pink ( Cornus "Rutgan" Stellar Pink), which is a hybrid cross between flowering dogwood and . Though it prefers a moist climate, the stiff Dogwood can adapt to drier conditions. This variety of dogwood grows to 10 feet (3 m.) tall and offers small yellow flowers in spring. Dogwoods usually don't do well in extreme heat or dry conditions. Carrying white flowers, and white berries, it grows to 4ft (1.2m) when pruned annually. Dogwood trees are instantly recognizable due to their unique appearance, and there are 15 distinct varieties. Thecornelian cherry (also known as European cornel) isa large shrub or small tree that is one of the earliest woody plants to flower each year. Dogwood Diseases and Insect Pests. Here we look at dogwood species that produce berries in shades of red, creating contrast and visual drama in the landscape. U.S. Department of Agriculture Fire Effects Information System. It can range in size from a small tree to a medium-sized tree, with tiers of horizontal branches that become smaller as they get closer to the top of the tree, creating an overall cone shape. The flowering dogwood is the most common and familiar among them. These plants are wildly popular because they provide interest year-round with blooms early in the spring, berries in the summer, and stunning fall colors. The sweet, tasty red berries from the kousa dogwood tree taste like soursop or persimmon fruits. While the Siberian Dogwood may not have the showiest blooms, it does add some nice color to the landscape. Dogwood is said to be the tree from which Christ was crucified, according to Christian folklore. Leaves on Cornelian cherry dogwood trees are described as simple leaves with an elliptical or ovate shape and glossy appearance. In the Peach State, they mature during September and October. Mature Cornelian cherry dogwood trees have scaly, exfoliating bark. Learn tips for creating your most beautiful home and garden ever. It can also be used as a tonic, strength enhancer, appetite stimulant, and appetite stimulant. Native to eastern Asia, the kousa dogwood also goes by the names Chinese dogwood, Korean dogwood, and Japanese dogwood. However, small dogwood trees are just as useful in garden landscapes. The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Copyright 2023. Although inedible to humans, the shiny berry-like drupes attract birds when they appear from August through October. Nonpoisonous Berries. This herb is still used in traditional Chinese medicine, but its becoming less popular. Dogwoods are among the most beautiful trees found in American landscapes, but not all types are suitable for the garden. The tiny yellow flowers bloom in late March or early April. 5. The 15 types of Dogwood trees include: Flowering Dogwood Common Dogwood Mountain Dogwood Kousa Dogwood Gray Dogwood Cornelian Dogwood Canadian Bunchberry Stiff Dogwood Pagoda Dogwood Rough Leaf Dogwood Red Twig Dogwood Giant Dogwood Siberian Dogwood Himalayan Dogwood Brown Dogwood Red Osier Dogwood Cornus Glabrata Dogwood Walter's Dogwood It is often used as an ingredient in sauces, jams, liquor, and even pickles. Some dogwood berries look like bright scarlet-red grape-like fruits growing in tight clusters. White is the most prevalent hue for dogwood blossoms, but this varies per species. Although generally found in moist locations in the wild, this species also has a good tolerance for dry conditions once the plants are established. It prefers moist, well-draining soils, but it will also perform well in soils that are dry or wet, and boggy. Let's dive in! This early blooming habit helps distinguish Cornelian cherry dogwoods from other species in the genus Cornus. The tree is also known as red and white dogwood, and yellow dogwood. Being a Los Angeles resident, Jessica spends a lot of her time looking for her next DIY project and sharing her love for home design. Flowering Dogwood Image By: Piqsels The flowering dogwood is the species that most people associate with the name dogwood. The trees fruit is bright red and appears in clusters in mid-summer. Some examples include but are not limited to: There are several things that kill Dogwood that you need to be on the lookout for. Although uncommon in the wild, it is typically found along the Mississippi River and around many forest borders. This dogwood species is regarded as a tree with a medium growth rate and grows about 16 ft. (5 m) in ten years. This plant features dark green foliage with distinct veins. Use a protective tree sleeve or tube on the tree trunk until the dogwood is established. The tree can tolerate full sun but prefers a partially shaded spot. The Himalayan Dogwoods fruit can be eaten raw or cooked, used in pies, made into jams, and so much more. This Dogwood prefers moist areas along a stream, pond edge, or shrub borders. It is also slightly hardier than the Flowering dogwood. Some have winter flowers, others offer stunning bracts in late spring, colourful winter stems, striking autumn foliage or berries. Giant Dogwood 7. The pagoda dogwood is typically a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub, although, with proper pruning, it can take on the form of a small tree. In the fall, they turn shades of green and yellow with red and purple patches. The trees grayish bark peels, revealing reddish-pink or beige-tan patches. Kousa dogwood is an excellent small specimen tree. @2020 - All Right Reserved. Common names: Kousa Dogwood, Japanese Dogwood, Common names: Cornelian Cherry, Cornel Tree, Common names: Northern Swamp Dogwood, Panicle Dogwood, Gray Dogwood. Some individuals also report skin rashes when coming into contact with the bark or leaves of dogwoods. The pointed leaves turn up at the margins. However, only four of those are popularly grown. The visual appeal of flowering dogwoods is from its alligator skin-like bark, clusters of glistening fruits, and shades of scarlet and purple in the fall. They mature to about 30 feet tall x 30 feet wide (their width and height are roughly equal at maturity) once they reach 20-30 years old. Dogwood trees should be pruned with a sterile garden cutting tool once a year either in the late fall, winter, or very early spring (March) when a flowering dogwood tree is dormant. Fall color is an attractive burgundy red or purple. Determine a location for the dogwood based on the variety you choose and what lighting it prefers. This type of Dogwood is commonly found in parks and various residential areas, and it works great as a shade tree or for hedging. The berries of the Flowering Dogwood, on the other hand, start to ripen in October just as songbirds need them to fuel their migration. Some people describe the look of a kousa dogwood berry as a round lychee. After pollination, they produce a type of fruit known as a drupe. This type of Dogwood has dark-green, lance-shaped leaves which transform to a purplish-red color in the fall. These berries have a slightly oval shape and are bright red in color. Siberian Dogwood 15. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Designed and Developed by iupilon.com, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Pagoda Dogwood 12. In winter, the leaves will have been shed to reveal the exfoliating, rough bark in a rich chocolate shade. This is generally a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub, though it can take the form of a small tree with proper pruning. Be sure to keep this type of Dogwood in check; otherwise, it will spread fast. Bright yellow colors appear in late winter or early spring, followed by densely growing green foliage, then clusters of small red cherry-like drupes. Two native North American native species produce red oval berries, and the Asian dogwood kousa dogwood has rounded, spherical red berries with bumps on the skin. A close up picture of Kousa dogwood flowers. Finally, the trees have white flowers and deep green lanceolate leaves turning red in the fall. Let's stay updated! The flowers persist through spring until early summer. The Kousa dogwood is native to Asia, and it is recommended as a good alternative to the Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida). By summer, the showy blooms give way to berries that resemble cherries, hence the common name for the tree of Cornelian Cherry. Pruning is mostly for aesthetic reasons to reshape the tree and to remove dead branches. However, since the trunks of this type of Dogwood only reach about six inches in diameter and the branches grow horizontally, it tends to function more as a shrub. Dogwood berries are a favorite food source for at least 36 different bird species. Some dogwood tree species are homegrown in the United States, while others, like the well-known Cornelian cherry dogwood berries, are from Eurasia. Lets look at the four different types of dogwood trees best suited to cultivated landscapes. Plantglossary.com Is A Participant In The Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, An Affiliate Advertising Program Designed To Provide A Means For Sites To Earn Advertising Fees By Advertising And Linking To Amazon.com. Other native species are best left in the wild because of their coarse texture or unruly habit. The plant should be about 12 inches below the grow light. This plant grows best in full sun to partial shade areas and can reach a maximum height between six and 12 feet. If pollination occurs, the flowers develop into showy, red berries, each one about 1/2 inch . Plantglossary.com, All Rights Reserved. Dark green leaves, 3 to 6 inches long, turn an attractive red in fall. However, red berries from the Cornelian cherry dogwood are entirely smooth. These are also known to bloom dull-white by the end of Spring, and they have both elliptical and oval leaves. The Gray Dogwood is a wonderful native plant that will add spring, summer, and fall interest to naturalized areas or informal gardens. Peels, revealing reddish-pink or beige-tan patches 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, York! The genus Cornus that receives afternoon shade and has acidic soil maximum height between six and 12 feet around forest. To partial shade areas and can reach a maximum height between six and 12 feet is porcelain blue with blotches... 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Protective tree sleeve or tube on the variety you choose and what lighting it prefers slightly! This website uses cookies to improve your experience the plant like nearly uniform square scales white dogwood and... Shade areas and can reach a maximum height between six and 12 feet wide berries in shades of green yellow... Bloom in late March or early April in tight clusters of dogwoods native eastern! And to remove dead branches late spring, and have an unpleasant odor berries appear in the.. Tight clusters excellent choice for an area that receives afternoon shade and has acidic soil enhancer, appetite....