Cloud 9 Flowering Dogwood – Cornus florida ‘Cloud 9’

This dogwood is noted for its very early, yellow spring flowers. It grows to 15 feet tall by 20 wide.

Cloud 9 flowering dogwood will grow in partial shade to full sun. Prefers a moist, well drained, slightly acid soil. This variety has been selected for its yellow flowers and cold-hardiness, as witnessed by this specimen’s survival of zone 5b for 30 + years.

Cloud 9 dogwood is a small deciduous tree growing to 15 feet. The leaves are opposite, simple, ovate, 6-13 cm (2.4-5.1 in) long and 4-6 cm (1.6-2.4 in) broad, with an entire margin. They turn a rich red-brown in fall.

Cloud 9 Flowering Dogwood is 34 years old

The flowers are small, with four bracts 4 mm (0.16 in) long. Flowers are produced in a dense, rounded, umbel-shaped inflorescence 1-2 cm (0.39-0.79 in) in diameter. The flower head is surrounded by four large yellow petals, each 3 cm (1.2 in) long and 2.5 cm (0.98 in) broad, rounded, and often with a distinct notch at the apex.

The fruit is a cluster of 2-10 drupes, each 10-15 mm (0.39-0.59 in) long and about 8 mm (0.31 in) wide, which ripen in the late summer and the early fall to a bright red. They are an important food source for birds.

Cornus florida common names include American Dogwood, Florida Dogwood, Flowering Dogwood, Indian Arrowwood, Cornelian Tree, White Cornel, White Dogwood, False Box, and False Boxwood. Cornus florida is the state tree of both Missouri and Virginia, and the state flower of Virginia and North Carolina.

References
1. Cloud 9 Flowering Dogwood, Morton Arboretum acc. 292-66*2 photos by Bruce Marlin
2. Ohio State University, “Flowering Dogwood”
3.Excerpts from Morton Arboretum articles used with permission

Trees Index | Family Cornaceae – Dogwood family | Fruit Trees | Nut Trees