Pink Flowering Dogwood

Pink Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida 'Rubra') is a small deciduous tree grown for one fortnight in mid spring, when rose pink bracts open along bare branches and the whole canopy reads as colour. In Australian gardens it settles at about 5m tall and 3.5m wide, short of the 8m it reaches in its native North America. It is slow, and it needs a cool climate, but few small trees flower like it.

Why you'll love it

• Colour on bare wood. The pink bracts open before the leaves, so the whole canopy flowers at once.
• A second season in autumn. The leaves turn red and burgundy before they drop.
• Small garden scale. About 5m by 3.5m, branching in horizontal tiers rather than a heavy dome.
• Roots that stay out of trouble. Non-invasive, so it can sit near a path or a driveway edge.
• Food for wildlife. Bees and butterflies work the spring flowers, and small birds take the red fruit.

Where it works best

Feature planting. Put it where it will be looked at: opposite a window, or standing alone in lawn. Allow 4m of clear width for the tiered branches.

Small gardens. Modest height and well behaved roots suit a courtyard or an urban front garden. Keep it 2m clear of the house.

Light shade. The horizontal branching casts dappled shade, gentle enough for hellebores, ferns and bulbs planted beneath it.

Growing Pink Flowering Dogwood in Australia

Position and climate. Cool temperate and warm temperate gardens only. It is frost hardy and wind tolerant, and it needs genuine winter chill to set flower buds. Hot dry summers are its weakness, which rules out subtropical, tropical and arid gardens. Full sun in cool districts; where summers run hot, give it afternoon shade.

Soil. Moist, well drained and slightly acidic, with compost worked through the bed. It will not sit in waterlogged ground. Mulch 75mm deep and avoid digging under the canopy, because the feeding roots run shallow.

Water and feed. Steady moisture through the first three summers matters more than anything else: one deep soak a week, two in a heatwave. Feed a complete slow release fertiliser in early spring and keep the nitrogen moderate.

Pruning. Almost none. Remove damaged or crossing wood in winter while the tree is bare. Flower buds form on the previous season's growth, so hard pruning costs the following spring's display.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow it in a 400mm pot as a single established tree, and in packs of six 200mm plants for group planting. The 400mm tree already carries a clear leader and branch structure. The 200mm plants are younger and want an extra two or three years.

Ordered between late autumn and winter it arrives bare and looks like a stick, which is normal and the ideal time to plant. Growth is slow at 20 to 30cm a year, with the first real display in the second or third spring. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Compare the options in our flowering trees collection.
• See what else earns its keep in autumn colour plants.
• See more options in small trees for urban gardens.

Common questions

Will it grow in Sydney or Brisbane?

Brisbane is too warm and humid for it, and it will struggle in coastal Sydney. It is at its best in cool temperate gardens, which includes Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra and the tablelands of New South Wales.

How fast does it grow?

Slowly, at roughly 20 to 30cm a year. Expect eight to ten years before it reads as a mature small tree of about 5m, which is why the larger pot size is worth the difference.

Why is my dogwood not flowering?

Young trees often take two or three springs to settle. The other usual causes are too little winter chill, too much shade, or summer pruning, which removes the wood carrying next season's buds.