By Jim Midcap
University of Georgia

Flowering dogwoods are the aristocrats of the small, flowering trees in Georgia. They provides interest and excitement in the spring, summer, fall and winter.

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The low-branching, rounded tree is covered with gorgeous spring blooms. The white, red or pink bracts open in April and May before the leaves do.

The bright, green leaves line the horizontal branches in the summer and turn a purplish red in the fall. The bark on older stems develops a characteristic, deeply fissured, square pattern easily recognized at a distance.

And the bright, red, fall and winter berries feed the landscape's birds.

This native tree reaches 25 to 30 feet tall and grows under the high shade of tall trees. The flowering dogwood is best adapted to partial shade and does best with afternoon shade. However, many are grown in full sun and look great.

The higher the light, the more flowers dogwoods will produce. The roots are naturally shallow and grow best in moist, organic, well-drained soils. Dogwoods suffer when subjected to drought. Water them thoroughly while they're young.

Ah! Mulch better!

Sun-planted dogwoods can suffer from drought when growing under heavy competition from plants such as turf grasses. These trees do much better when mulched and irrigated deeply during establishment and droughts.

Mulching and removing the grass beneath the dogwoods will keep the mowers and string trimmers away from the trunk. The bark on young trees is easily damaged by mowers, creating wounds that allow disease entry into the tree.

When selecting a dogwood to plant, always choose named selections. These have been chosen because they have improved features.

Fast start

Most named selections bloom at a young age. A plant two to three feet tall will be covered with flowers, while seedlings will seldom even have even a single flower.

Selections usually have large bracts that are bright white, pink or red. They're usually insect- and disease-resistant. With seedling dogwoods, you're not sure what will develop. Plants often don't flower for four to six years after planting.

There are many selections to choose from, and new ones are appearing all the time. It's best to see the plants in bloom before making your selection.

Some proven selections are Barton and Cloud Nine (white), Cherokee Brave and Cherokee Chief (red), rubra (pink) and Pygmaea (a white-bracted dwarf). Select a named cultivar to plant this spring, and reward yourself in future springs.

(Jim Midcap is an Extension Service horticulturist with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)