Kousa Dogwood

      Cornus Kousa, also known as Kousa Dogwood, Japanese Dogwood or Chinese Dogwood, is a small tree belonging to the Dogwood family. The Japanese Dogwood is not a very pretentious tree and, for example, even though it needs a well-drained soil, it can also adapt to a dry one or, even though it prefers full sun, it can also adapt to partial shade, if needed.

      During summer it is recommended for the watering process to be frequent, in order to maintain the leaves in perfect health.

      Kousa Dogwood can be propagated by seeds or by rooted cuttings. It needs no special attention during this period as the tree, as well as the whole Dogwood family is not sensitive to diseases and has no pest problems. One of the few things that could harm the tree is the attempt of transplanting it in fall.

      Kousa Dogwood produces, not only beautiful, eye-catching flowers, but also tasteful fruits. The flowers last between four and six weeks and are grouped as small inflorescences of a yellow-green color and have as flowering period the beginning of July. The fruits come in perfect contrast with the leaves because of the strong red color they reach in September.

      The trunk has a light brown-gray color with smooth yellow-beige or dark-gray interruptions that confer ornamental properties to the bark.

      Some of the main attributes of Kousa Dogwood that manage to transform it in a perfect ornamental tree are: the small size, the beautiful long-lasting flowers that start blooming in late spring, the bark that becomes ornamental when reaching its maturity and the low risk of contacting diseases or having pests problems.

      Urban environments seem not to be on the list of environments the tree enjoys, so, as a conclusion, try to keep it away from the urban stress.

      The name of the tree is compound of two words coming from two different languages. The first one is cornus, a word that in Latin means Dogwood and the second one is Kausa, the name given to the tree by the Japanese.

Kousa Dogwood Pictures Gallery

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Thousands of star-shaped blooms show out against the dark green leaves of the Kousa dogwood. Though the brilliant white may look like a flower, it is actually a bract, similar to the red part of a poinsettia.
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