Scarlet Fire® Dogwood

Dogwood trees are one of the great garden joys of spring, bringing as much beauty to our gardens as they do to our woodlands. In recent years, though, disease has made growing our native dogwood (Cornus florida) a chancy thing, so why not go with a sure thing, and grow the resistant Chinese dogwood instead? Go for the best, and something unique, the magnificent Scarlet Fire® Chinese Dogwood, which brings its brilliant fuchsia-pink blooms to your garden around the end of May and into June. It follows on from the native trees, extending the time we can enjoy the beauty of these magnificent trees. Not affected by anthracnose, the killer of our native, and also free of the white dust of powdery mildew in summer, this tough tree is beautiful in every season. An abundance of blooms, each over 5 inches across and bright pink, smother the tree in late spring. In summer each bloom has become a hanging edible fruit, looking a little like a strawberry, which will be eaten by birds if you don’t take them. In fall the colors are spectacular, with multiple shades of purples and reds. Even in winter the graceful branching structure, and the bark, mottled in gray and tan-brown, brings beauty too. It’s fast growing, reaching 10 feet in a few years, and maturing up to 25 feet tall and 20 feet across.

• Magnificent fuchsia-pink blooms in May and June
• Red summer fruits are edible and also popular with birds
• Purple and red fall colors
• Beautiful trunk, mottled with tan and gray
• Good resistance to the diseases of our native dogwoods

The Scarlet Fire® Chinese Dogwood should be planted in full sun, or in partial sun, with some afternoon shade. Some shade is especially useful if your garden is dry in summer. Plant in neutral to acidic soil that is well-drained but rich and moist. Regular watering is recommended, although older trees will tolerate a little summer dryness. It is deer resistant and also resistant to anthracnose and powdery mildew. Insect pests are negligible. It isn’t necessary to prune it unless you want to develop a single trunk – otherwise this tree tends naturally to be multi-trunked.