Venus® Is A Unique Flowering Dogwood

7" Bracts of Venus® dogwood (C. kousa x C. nuttali)

Spring flowering dogwoods (Cornus spp.) are back in vogue again (USDA hardiness zones 6-9). A better understanding about growing dogwoods coupled with improved resistant disease varieties have seen the return of dogwoods to landscapes again.

If you want to plant a variety with the largest flowers, no question it is Venus®. This hybrid dogwood (Cornus kousa 'Chinensis' x Cornus nuttalii 'Goldspot' x Cornus kousa 'Rosea')  was developed at Rutgers University by Dr. Elwin R. Orton (now retired). The tree's large bracted blooms measure 6 - 7 inches across in April and May. 

Venus dogwood grows vigorously, 15-20 feet tall (slightly greater in spread). It is a small deciduous tree forms a dense, low-branched, spreading habit.

Venus is resistant to anthracnose and powdery mildew diseases. It has clean dark green foliage and large flowers. Red dogwood fruits attract lots of birds in early fall. Fall leaf color is red to orange.

This dogwood grows in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade. In southeastern U.S., morning sunlight and afternoon shade is best. Summer leaf scorch may indicate too much direct sunlight and/or exposure to hot, windy or dry soil conditions. The tree benefits by applying 2-3 inches of a wood-based or needle mulch that keeps tree roots cool and moist. For the first 2-3 summers, a young dogwood should be irrigated during dry periods.

Venus dogwood, when properly sited and cared for, have few disease and insect problems. Stressed trees become vulnerable to stem cankers and insect borers. Deer are usually not troublesome.

Dogwoods are planted on urban and suburban lawns and around patio areas. Venus dogwood needs to be special ordered from garden centers or purchase from e-commerce nursery sources.

Select These Ornamental Crabapples

For those gardeners tired of Bradford pear problems, go shopping for ornamental crabapples (Malus spp.). Selected cultivars mature into lovely small spring flowering trees. Most fit under utility lines. Be careful which cultivars you choose.

Worldwide, there are over 400 cultivars of crabapples in nursery commerce. Most are susceptibility to one or more serious foliar diseases that include fire blight, cedar apple rust, apple scab, powdery mildew and frog-eye.  All 19 listed below are rated with above average disease resistance.

Ornamental crabapple fruits add ornamental beauty in fall and winter seasons. Fruit size is small, less than 5/8 inches in diameter. An extra bonus is that small birds are attracted to the fruits from late fall thru winter.  There is no mess on lawns, walkways or cars.

Consult experts at your state's land grant university for an updated listing which may also additional cultivars. Varieties 'Prairifire', 'Sugartyme', Japanese flowering crabapple (M. floribunda) and M. x sargentii are popular at garden centers nationwide.

Here is your shopping list of 18 of the best.

Adams - 20 x 20ft. (magenta flowers & red fruit)                            

Adirondack - 18 x 10 ft. (white flowers & orange-red fruit)

Cardinal® - 16 x 22 ft. (pink-red flowers & red fruit)

Centurion® - 20 x 15 ft. (pink flowers & red fruit)

David - 12 x 12 ft. (white flowers & red fruit)

Donald Wyman - 20 x 20 ft. (white flowers & red fruit)

Doubloons - 18 x 16 ft. (double white flowers & yellow fruit

Firebird® - 8 x 10 ft. (magenta flowers & red fruit)

Japanese flowering crabapple (M. floribunda) - 20 x 20 ft. (light pink flowers & dark red fruit)

Louisa - weeping 10 x 12 ft. (pink flowers & yellow fruit)

Pink Princess™- 8 x 12 ft. (rose pink flowers & red fruit)

Prairifire - 20 x 20 ft. (red-purple flowers & dark red fruit)

Purple Prince® -   20 x 20 ft. (rose red flowers & maroon fruit)

Royal Raindrops® - 20 x 15 ft. (pink red flowers & red fruit)

sargentii - short spreader 8 x 14 ft. (white flowers & red fruit)

sargentii ‘Tina’ - dwarf 5 x 6 ft. (white flowers & red fruit)

Sugartyme® - 18 x 15 ft. (white flowers & red fruit)

White Cascade® - weeping 15 x 15 ft. (white flowers & lime-yellow fruit)

zumi ‘Calocarpa’ -  20 x 24 ft. (white flowers & red fruit)

* Thanks to J. Frank Schmidt & Sons Co., Boring, OR for their cultivar height and width data and foliar disease ratings. 

Diseased Resistant Flowering Dogwoods

'Appalachian Joy' at NC Arboretum, Asheville, NC

Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is a small spring flowering tree that typically grows 15-30 feet tall. It is generally  low-branching, and with a flat-topped canopy.

This beautiful native tree grows best in a moist well-drained soils in 3/4 day sun to light shade. Maintain a 2-4 inch mulch layer around the tree to keep roots cool and moist. It rarely requires pruning, except to remove a broken or dead limb.

Concerns about planting flowering dogwoods (Cornus florida) have calmed over the years  with the introduction of five disease resistant dogwood varieties from the University of Tennessee. Spring availability should be good and come in larger landscape sizes in containers and balled and burlapped (b&b).

Anthracnose resistant cultivar: 'Appalachian Spring'

Powdery mildew resistant cultivars: 'Appalachian Snow', 'Appalachian Blush' and 'Appalachian Mist'.

Additionally, 'Cherokee Brave', with dark pink flower bracts, has proven to exhibit exceptionally good powdery mildew resistance.

Flowering dogwood performs best in southern New England and mid-Atlantic states, eastern Mid-west states (Illinois to Ohio), and southeastern U.S.