Recommended Dogwood Trees for Ohio

Color

• Many types of flowering dogwood trees (Cornus florida) suitable for Ohio and other areas in USDA zones 5 through 9 have May-blooming flowers in shades of white, pink or red. Some, such as "Appalachian Spring" (Cornus florida "Appalachian Spring") have white blooms followed by bright red fruits. Tree leaves turn crimson in the fall. "Cherokee Brave" (Cornus florida ar. Rubra “Cherokee Brave”) dogwoods, for USDA zones 5 through 8, produce blooms in burgundy red. "Radiant Rose" (Cornus florida x chinensis “Radiant Rose”) dogwood for zones 5 through 9 also begets red flowers in May. Pink-flowered dogwood varieties include fast-growing “Miss Satomi” (Cornus kousa “Miss Satomi”), suitable for zones 5 through 8, and Cornus florida “Rubra," a heavily blooming small-tree cultivar for zones 5 through 9.

Height

• Dogwood trees and shrubs reach from about 5 to 40 feet high; many types grow to an average of 20 feet. Dwarf varieties such as weeping dogwood (Cornus kousa “Lustgarden Weeping”), for USDA zones 4 through 8, grow to about 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide within 12 years. “Midwinter Fire” (Cornus sanguinea “Midwinter Fire”), in zones 4 through 7, reaches about 5 or 6 feet tall and wide, within eight years. Medium-sized dogwoods such as redosier dogwood (Cornus sericea), in zones 2 through 7, are deciduous woody shrubs that grow from just under 5 to about 20 feet tall. Silky dogwood (Cornus amomum) trees all around Ohio and in USDA zones 4 through 8 grow around 10 feet tall and equally wide. “Snow Tower” (Cornus kousa “Snow Tower”), in zones 4 through 7, produce deep green leaves and white flowers. They reach 10 to 12 feet high and spread 3 to 4 feet wide. Tall-growing trees suitable for Ohio include giant dogwood (Cornus controversa “Variegata”) for zones 5 through 8. Trees span 30 to 40 feet high and equally wide. Their variegated green leaves are edged in white.

Foliage

• Dogwood leaves are often green or variegated during spring and summer, but many varieties turn bright red, purple, yellow or orange in the fall. In Ohio and other areas of USDA zones 4 through 8, “Snow Boy” (Cornus kousa “Snow Boy”) grows about 8 feet tall and features green with white-edged foliage that turns reddish-purple in the fall. Variegated Chinese dogwood trees (Cornus kousa “Lemon Ripple"), suitable for zones 5 through 8, produce light green, yellow-edged leaves that turn bright orange in the fall. “Cloud 9” (Cornus florida “Cloud 9”) has large white flowers that highlight light green leaves during the month of May. Growing up to 20 feet tall, “Cherokee Daybreak” (Cornus kousa “Cherokee Daybreak”) features green variegated foliage with white edging. “Cloud 9” and “Cherokee Daybreak” are suitable for zones 5 through 9.

Care

• Dogwood trees must have moist but well-draining organic soil with pH of 5.5 to 6.0. Trees thrive in full sunlight, though flowering varieties mostly prefer partial shade, notes Clemson University Extension. Plant trees far enough apart so that air can circulate through the leaves, especially after rainfall. Trees should receive 1 to 2 inches of water per week, but do not allow roots to sit in puddles. Flowering dogwood trees are susceptible to powdery mildew, anthracnose, cankers and leaf-spotting fungi. Trees attract insects such as scale and midges; however, one of the most damaging pests is the dogwood borer (Synanthedon scitula), which attacks undernourished, weakened or newly transplanted trees and can kill them within a short period of time.