Starlight Flowering Dogwood
Starlight Flowering Dogwood (Cornus × 'Starlight')
Height: 30 feet Spread: 20 feet Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade Hardiness Zone: 5b
Description: The Starlight Flowering Dogwood is a heavily flowering hybrid known for its striking white blooms that cover the tree in spring, and foliage that changes to a rich red in the fall. This vigorous grower with an erect habit and upright branches makes it an excellent choice for a front yard accent tree.
Ornamental Features:
Flowers: Stunning clusters of white flowers with white bracts held atop the branches in late spring.
Foliage: Attractive dark green deciduous foliage. The pointy leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding red in the fall.
Fruit: Can be messy in the landscape and may require occasional clean-up.
Bark: Peeling gray bark and antique red branches are extremely showy, adding significant winter interest.
Landscape Attributes:
Deciduous tree with an upright spreading habit of growth.
Average texture that blends into the landscape but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
Low-maintenance tree; should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers.
Good choice for attracting birds to your yard.
No significant negative characteristics.
Recommended Uses:
Accent
Shade
Planting & Growing:
Grows to about 30 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 feet.
Low canopy with a typical clearance of 3 feet from the ground, making it suitable for planting under power lines.
Grows at a slow rate and can live for 40 years or more under ideal conditions.
Thrives in full sun to partial shade.
Prefers average to evenly moist conditions but will not tolerate standing water. May require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat.
Very fussy about soil conditions; must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success. Subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils.
Somewhat tolerant of urban pollution; will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location.
Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates.
This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.