“Autumn is the season to plant dogwoods”, according to the University of Tennessee Dogwood Research Team. Newly planted dogwoods (Cornus spp.) can establish their roots in the still warm soil and be ready to handle next spring and summer’s heat and dry spells.

Over the past 20 years the UT Dogwood Team has released six highly disease resistant dogwood cultivars of flowering dogwood (C. florida) under the ‘Appalachian’ series logo. So far, white flowering ‘Appalachian Spring’ is the only dogwood cultivar resistant to the dreaded anthracnose (Discula) disease. ‘Appalachian Mist’, ‘Appalachian Snow’, and pink-tinged ‘Appalachian Blush’ are white-bracted cultivars that are highly resistant to powdery mildew.

‘Appalachian Joy’ is the newest introduction in the powdery mildew resistant line. Its flowers develop 1-2 extra bracts to present a showier floral display.

Flowering dogwood (C. florida) defines the adage – “the right plant in the right environment”. It is a native understory tree and should be planted in partial sunlight. Full morning sunlight is preferred in the Southern Appalachian region (USDA hardiness zones 6 and 7). While a slightly acidic moist well drained soil is ideal, flowering dogwood develops above average summer drought and heat tolerance after two years on site.

Compare C. florida to Chinese dogwood (C. kousa), the latter requires deep watering 2-3 times over the summer. Kousa’s pointed white bracts appear 2-3 weeks after flowering dogwood has finished. The UT dogwood team is currently testing better anthracnose resistant Chinese dogwoods, including a space-saving narrow columnar growing form.