Cornus kousa
Common Name: Kousa Dogwood
Family: Cornaceae

DECIDUOUS

Simsbury, CT

Plant is Native to: Japan, Korea and China. Hardy to Zone 5.
Plant Height at maturity: Approximately 30 feet tall and wide.
Plant Habit and Form: Small deciduous tree, rounded shape at maturity. Young trees are vase-shaped; form a rounded appearance with age, with stratified branching pattern. Strong horizontal lines are evident in older trees.
Foliage: Opposite, simple, elliptic-ovate shape; 2 to 4 inches long, 3/4 to 1 3/4" wide. Acuminate leaf tip. Medium dark green above, glaucous and appressed. Tufts of hairs in the vein axils and the leaf undersides. Leaves turn red or red-purple in fall; color lasts for 3 to 5 weeks.

West Simsbury, CT

Bark: Older trees develop exfoliating bark, which reveals a mix of gray, tan and rich brown. Bark quality is quite variable.

Simsbury, CT

Flower: Small, greenish-yellow flowers surrounded by four large, showy, pointed bracts. The flower is ½" diameter, held upright along stems. Bracts are the showy part of the inflorescence, and start out white, but age to pink. Bloom time begins in early June, lasting about 6 weeks.

Simsbury, CT

Fruit/Seed: Dull raspberry-red fruit (drupe), stand upright along stem when green, but pendant when ripe. Has appearance of large raspberry. Ripens in late August through October, and can be quite showy. Edible.

Simsbury, CT

Growing Requirements: Prefers moist, fertile, acidic, well-drained soil high in organic matter. Likes full sun to partial shade. Does well in sandy soil, as long as it has good organic content. More drought resistant than Cornus florida.
Problems and Drawbacks: No serious problems, but some borer damage reported.
Special Uses: Good specimen plant, for lawn, patio area or even in small groups. Good multi season plant, with ornamental qualities of habit, bark, flowering, fruiting and fall foliage color.
ID Tips/Remarks: Horizontal branching, multi-colored exfoliating bark. Flowers are surrounded by bracts with pointed tips, rather than rounded bract tips of the C. florida. Flower buds are pointed and shaped like an onion.
Bibliography:
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/c/corkou/corkou1.htmlDirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, 1998 Stipes Publishing, Champaigne, IL