Flowering Dogwood: Thriving Native Plant for Maryland 

LGS Notes: Flowering dogwood is a small deciduous tree that displays beautiful blooms in early spring.  While tolerant of a range of conditions, it prefers moist, well-drained soil in part-shade, making it a perfect choice for the edge of a woodland garden, or as a smaller specimen tree in a residential yard. The early and relatively long bloom time of the dogwood supplies bees with much needed pollen and nectar after a long winter. Bright red fruits appear in late summer to early fall, and are a valuable food source for many birds. It offers showy scarlet fall foliage, and tolerates deer and clay soil.

I recommend dogwood and redbuds as great small ornamental flowering trees for smaller residential properties. They are also great as an understory tree on larger wooded properties. I lived on a beautiful property in Elkridge that have about 15 white flowering dogwood sprinkled throughout the property and it was such a beautiful sight in the spring! Make sure to plant this tree in well drained soil because of its’ tendency to get anthracnose in an overly moist soil situation.

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Latin Name: Cornus florida  

Type: Tree

Family: Cornaceae

Native Range: Eastern North America

Zone: 5 to 9

Height: 15.00 to 30.00 feet

Spread: 15.00 to 30.00 feet

Bloom Time: April to May

Bloom Description: White (bracts)

Sun: Full sun to part shade

Water: Medium

Maintenance: Medium

Suggested Use: Flowering Tree

Flower: Showy

Leaf: Good Fall

Attracts: Birds, Butterflies

Fruit: Showy

Tolerate: Deer, Clay Soil, Black Walnut

Information from Missouri Botanical Garden