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Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: flowering dogwood
Type: Tree
Family: Cornaceae
Zone: 5 to 9
Height: 15 to 30 feet
Spread: 25 to 35 feet
Bloom Time: May
Bloom Color: Pink, Red
Bloom Description: Red fading to white in the center
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Flowers: Showy Flowers
Leaves: Good Fall Color
Wildlife: Attracts Birds, Attracts Butterflies
Tolerates: Clay Soil, Black Walnuts, Deer
Uses: Flowering Tree
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Prefers moist, organically rich, acidic soils in part shade. Benefits from a 2-4” mulch which will help keep roots cool and moist in summer. CHEROKEE BRAVE reportedly has better drought resistance than most flowering dogwood cultivars available in commerce. May be inadvisable at this time to plant this tree in areas where dogwood anthracnose infestations are present (see problems section below).
Noteworthy Characteristics
'Comco No. 1' is a red-bracted flowering dogwood that is commonly sold under the trade name of CHEROKEE BRAVE. Flowers feature red bracts that fade to white in the center. The center cluster of true flowers is yellowish. Flowers bloom in May. This cultivar is noted for its vigor and rapid growth. Trees typically mature over time to 15-30' tall and to 25-35' wide. Oval leaves (to 3-6" long) emerge reddish in spring, mature to deep green in summer and develop excellent red, burgundy and purple colors in fall. Flowers are followed by vivid red fruit (poisonous to humans but loved by birds). U. S. Plant Patent PP10,166 was issued on December 30, 1997. Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is the Missouri State Tree, and arguably may be the most beautiful of the native American flowering trees. It is a small deciduous tree that typically grows 15-30’ tall with a low-branching, broadly-pyramidal but somewhat flat-topped habit. It blooms in early spring shortly after, but usually overlapping, the bloom period of the redbuds. The true dogwood flowers are actually tiny, yellowish green and insignificant, being compacted into button-like clusters. However, each flower cluster is surrounded by four showy, white, petal-like bracts which open flat, giving the appearance of a single, large, 3-4” diameter, 4-petaled, white flower.
Plant of Merit
CHEROKEE BRAVE is a red-flowered variety of the Missouri State Tree. It typically matures to 15-30 feet tall with a preference for moist, organically rich, acidic soils in part shade. Flowers appear in May. Each flower consists of a center cluster of true yellow flowers surrounded by four large, showy, petal-like red bracts. Flowers are followed by red fall fruit, which is inedible to humans but loved by many birds and small animals. Oval leaves emerge reddish in spring, mature to deep green by summer and finish with red/burgundy/purple in fall. This dogwood excels as a specimen or in groups for lawns, patio areas or woodland gardens.
Problems
Flowering dogwood, when stressed, is susceptible to a rather large number of disease problems the most serious of which is dogwood anthracnose. Although this anthracnose is not yet a serious problem in Missouri, it has caused considerable devastation in parts of the eastern U.S. Plants are also susceptible to leaf spot, crown canker, root rot and leaf and twig blight. Stressed trees also become vulnerable to borers. Leaf miner and scale are less serious potential insect pests. CHEROKEE BRAVE is noted for having resistance to anthracnose and powdery mildew.
Garden Uses
Popular as a specimen or small grouping on residential property around homes, near patios or in lawns. Also effective in woodland, bird or native plant gardens.