Cornus florida Cultivars A-G

'Andrea Hart'

A poorly documented cultivar, said to be small (< 2.5 m) and densely branched, with pink bracts (Cappiello & Shadow 2005).

'Appalachian Joy'

A powdery-mildew resistant cultivar with supernumerary bracts (up to eight), discovered in 1995 in a Tennessee trial field of over a million seedlings of wild and cultivated origin. Bracts are white with an orange cleft: the primary bracts slightly overlapping, secondary bracts, when present, half the size of the primaries. Selected and introduced by the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (US Patent 2007/0150991 P1).

'Appalachian Spring'

Resistant to Dogwood Anthracnose, introduced by the University of Tennessee from the remnant wild population in Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland (>1000 dogwoods per hectare), 94% of which had succumbed to the disease by 1994 (Trigiano et al. 2018). Widely grown in North American gardens for its disease resistance and the numerous, large, white bracts. It also displays excellent red autumn foliage. (Cappiello & Shadow 2005). Not patented (as a wild selection).

'Apple Blossom'

Abundant flowers, the bracts ‘apple-blossom pink shading to blush white in the centre’; introduced by Wayside Gardens, Ohio in 1962, having been selected by Hoyt’s Sons, New Canaan, Connecticut some years previously (Wyman 1963). Gayraud’s specimen is one of the earliest to flower, opening with white bracts that quickly turn pink (Gayraud 2013).

Cornus florida 'Apple Blossom' (Wespelaar Arboretum, Haacht Belgium; 9 May 2006). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

Cornus florida ‘Apple Blossom’ (Exbury Gardens Hampshire, April 2011). Image John Anderson.

'Autumn Gold'

A Don Shadow selection from a batch of yellow-stemmed seedlings grown by Commercial Nursery Company, Tennessee. Worth seeking for its bright golden autumn foliage and winter stems in shades of yellow and bright orange. (Cappiello & Shadow 2005)

'Cherokee Chief'

A well known, vigorous, widely grown cultivar with good pink-red bracts (though the colour depends on sun exposure), selected from a batch of ten seedlings (‘Howell Hybrids’) grown at Howell Nursery, Tennessee; introduced and patented in 1958 by Ike Hawkersmith – the parents were two pink trees, one local (‘Prosser’), the other of more northerly provenance (Wyman 1963; Cappiello & Shadow 2005; Witte et al. 2000). ‘Sweetwater Red’ is another from this batch.

Cornus florida 'Cherokee Chief' at Herkenrode, Belgium (11 April 2024). Image Tom Christian.

Cornus florida 'Cherokee Chief' (Acc. 81277, Wespelaar Arboretum, Haacht, Belgium; 25 April 2020). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

Vivid pink inflorescences of Cornus florida 'Cherokee Chief' (Acc. 81277, Wespelaar Arboretum, Haacht, Belgium; 9 May 2016). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

Cornus florida 'Royal Red' (Acc. 89405, Wespelaar Arboretum, Haacht, Belgium; 14 May 2005). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

Cornus florida 'Cherokee Chief' at Herkenrode, Belgium (14 April 2024). Image Tom Christian.

Cornus florida 'Cherokee Chief' at Herkenrode, Belgium (11 April 2024). Image Tom Christian.

Shallowly cupped involucres of Cornus florida 'Cherokee Chief' (Acc. 79845, US National Arboretum, Washington DC; 20 April 2018). Image Koen Camelbeke, Arboretum Wespelaar.

Cornus florida 'Cherokee Chief' offered by Kwekerij Van Ooi, Reeuwijk, Netherlands. Image Van Ooi, Reeuwijk.

Cornus florida 'Cherokee Chief' in full autumn dress (Tyler Arboretum, Pennsylvania, USA, 29 October 2025). Image John Grimshaw.

'Cherokee Princess'

Introduced as ‘Sno-White’ by Ike Hawkersmith, Tennessee in 1959 but registered under the current name in 1963. Forms a broad, free-flowering tree, the white involucres up to 12.5 cm across. Reasonably disease resistant (Cappiello & Shadow 2005).

Inflorescences of Cornus florida 'Cherokee Princess' (Acc. 92470 Wespelaar Arboretum, Haacht, Belgium; 25 April 2022). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

A well-formed specimen of Cornus florida 'Cherokee Princess' (Acc. 92470 Wespelaar Arboretum, Haacht, Belgium; 16 May 2010). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

Inflorescences of Cornus florida 'Cherokee Princess' shortly after the bracts have opened (US Botanic Garden, Washington DC; 18 April 2019) Image Koen Camelbeke, Arboretum Wespelaar.

Cornus florida 'Cherokee Princess, with 'Cherokee Chief' beyond (Tyler Arboretum, Pennsylvania, USA, 29 October 2025). Image John Grimshaw.

'Cloud Nine'

A heavily blooming variety with large, overlapping bracts and good autumn colour; discovered as a seedling in 1951 and introduced by Chase Nursery, Huntsville, Alabama (Jacobson 1996). Considered one of the hardiest forms of Cornus florida and also fairly resistant to mildew (Cappiello & Shadow 2005). The equivalence of ‘Barton’ and ‘Cloud Nine’, suspected by Windham and Trigiano (1998) was confirmed by the molecular study of Moreau et al. (2024).

Cornus florida 'Cloud Nine' (Acc. 83683 Wespelaar Arboretum, Haacht, Belgium; 9 May 1998). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

Cornus florida 'Cloud Nine' (Acc. 83683 Wespelaar Arboretum, Haacht, Belgium; 7 May 2012). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

Cornus florida 'Cloud Nine' (Acc. 83683 Wespelaar Arboretum, Haacht, Belgium; 7 May 2012). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

'Comco No. 1'

Extremely vigorous, forming a small tree to 7 m. The bracts are a strong pink, with white portions at the base of the bracts and pale apical clefts; new growth is purplish red, the leaves much larger than the type (US PP10166 P). A chance seedling discovered by nurseryman Hubert Nicholson of Decherd, Tennessee; US patent process initiated 1994. One of the best-loved pink cultivars of Cornus florida, widely available on both sides of the Atlantic; resistant to powdery mildew and said to be more drought-resistant than other cultivars (Cappiello & Shadow 2005; Dirr & Warren 2019; Witte et al. 2000; Missouri Botanical Garden 2025).

'Daybreak'

A variegated cultivar introduced by Commercial Nursery Company, Tennessee from a seedling find. This is a vigorous form with cream-edged, green leaves which turn a good red in autumn. The leaves are not susceptible to scorching if grown in direct sunlight (PP 06320 P), but the tree is reportedly particularly susceptible to spot anthracnose (Doubrava et al. 2024) and powdery mildew (Cappiello & Shadow 2005).

Pink-tinged foliage of Cornus florida 'Daybreak' Cherokee Daybreak. Image Van Ooi, Reeuwijk.

'Erica's Appalachian Sunrise'

An unusual apomictic cultivar derived from ‘Comco No. 1’ (C. florida Cherokee Brave), with the same dark-red bracts, but with the interveinal tissue stained pink, and generally more columnar and open in habit. Like its parent, it shows good resistance to powdery mildew. A serendipitous by-product of a breeding programme at the University of Tennessee in 2009, it was initially assumed (on the basis of molecular data) to be the result of an inadvertent self-pollination of ‘Comco No. 1’ (as reported in the US patent PP32468), but was subsequently shown to be from asexually generated seed (apomixis). The initial diagnosis had been questioned since self-pollination in this species is rare – one of the reasons for the difficulty in developing straight C. florida cultivars. (It should be added that apomixis is just as unusual – this is the first such instance observed in C. florida.) Given the near-identity of genomes between parent and offspring, the discernible difference in phenotype is intriguing, presumably attributable to epigenetic factors (Trigiano et al. 2024).

'Eternal Dogwood'

Multiple (12–20) white bracts over an unusually long flowering season – up to two weeks longer than is typical. Selected from a multibracteate tree by Pierre Simen, Thomasville, North Carolina. Cuttings flowered after three years, initially with 12–16 bracts, increasing to 16–20 by the fifth year. US Patent filed in 2001 (PP 13069 P2).

'Fircomz'

A variegated selection, the leaves green with an irregular bright-cream margin, pink-tinged on younger growth; inflorescence bracts are pink with a white base. A sport from ‘Cherokee Brave’ (Dirr & Warren 2019).

Striking young foliage on Cornus florida 'Fircomz' Firebird. Image Van Ooi, Reeuwijk.

'First Lady'

Vigorous, with an upright habit, the striking variegated leaves have ‘brilliant gold to chartreuse’ margins around an irregular dark green central blaze; the bracts are white. The leaves show little loss of colour even grown in full sun (Cappiello & Shadow 2005). Discovered as a seedling at the Boyd Nursery in Tennessee, patented in 1969 (US PP02916 P). The equivalence of material circulating in recent times as ‘Golden Nugget’ and ‘Hohman’s Golden’ with this cultivar was suspected by Witte et al. (2000) and confirmed by Moreau et al. (2024). ‘Hohman’s Golden’ was first listed, without description, in the catalogue of Hess’ Nursery, Wayne, New Jersey in 1964 (Santamour & McArdle 1985).

Cornus florida 'First Lady' in autumn (Tyler Arboretum, Pennsylvania, USA, 29 October 2025). Image John Grimshaw.

'Flore Rubro'

‘Flore Rubro’, selected and introduced by Parsons & Sons (Kissena Nurseries), Flushing, New York around 1880, was the first red-bracted clone to be introduced commercially. The firm claimed to have disseminated the plant under the name Cornus florida rubra, which name was subsequently taken up by other nurseries that had acquired their material (Sudworth 1897). In Parsons’ own catalogues, however, the plant seems always to have been listed as Cornus florida flore rubro. It was certainly in commercial circulation by 1885 (Parnell 1885), described in the 1888 catalogue as having ‘flowers suffused with bright red color lasting long […] a fresh pronounced red, continuing with the flower from the beginning to the end of its bloom’ (Parsons & Sons 1888). Intensity of bract pigmentation can depend on environmental factors, as discussed in the species entry, and horticulturists’ closer acquaintance with Parsons’ ‘bright red’ form produced frequent disappointment, as the colour was found to be rather less vividly red than advertised, though un joli rose nevertheless (André 1894). An illustration of the plant, received directly from Parsons, was published by Édouard André in the Revue horticole in 1894 (see below), the commentary describing the bracts as ‘not absolutely red, but vivid rose-coloured, with a paler apex, the centre less intensely pigmented towards the central button [onglet]’ (André 1889).

Old trees with involucres corresponding to André’s illustration – for example the splendid specimen at the Scott Arboretum, Pennsylvania – can be referred to Parsons’ ‘Flore Rubro’ with reasonable certainty. The clone appears to have been distributed widely, and was introduced to Europe (as ‘Flore Rubro’) by Parsons in 1889 (André 1889), with Cornus florida rubra treated treated as a synonym (André 1894). Historic European material grown under the label f. rubra, and which corresponds to André’s description, is probably this clone, the correct name for which should be Cornus florida ‘Flore Rubro’ as described in Parsons’ contemporary catalogues.

The occurrence of red- or pink-bracted forms of C. florida is discussed under Red-Bracted Group. Such forms have been described as var. rubra Weston, and f. rubra (Weston) Schelle. Writing in 1928, Ernest Wilson noted the claim that all of the plants in cultivation as var. rubra ‘have originated by vegetative propagation (mainly by grafting) from one individual tree discovered in the seventies of last century’ – in other words, Parsons’ selection (Wilson 1928). Thomas Meehan’s nurseries at Germantown, Pennsylvania, marketed Cornus florida flore rubro during the 1890s, described in their catalogue as ‘deep rosy pink’, […] the leaves as having ‘a soft, velvety appearance […] a darker green than the old variety [i.e. the type species]’ (Meehan’s Nurseries 1894). The colouring shown in Meehan’s catalogue illustration is richer than that of Parsons’ clone, and lacks the paler halo around the central button. It would be foolhardy to attempt to separate the two forms, Parsons’ and Meehan’s, on the basis of what is, after all, only a commercial illustration; nevertheless the possibility that there were two clones circulating in the United States under the same name should be kept in mind when dealing with old trees. Writing several decades later, Bean concluded that the colour variation in plants cultivated as f. rubra indicated that not all material so-named has the same origin (Bean 1976).

The assertion that the cultivar was first found in Virginia, ‘by a clergyman’ – versions of which are occasionally encountered in the literature (cf. Temple & Beard 1889; Dirr 2009) – is evidently a garbled folk-memory of John Banister’s original discovery of the pink form in the 1600s.

Less vividly red than advertised: Parsons' clone of Cornus florida flore rubro syn. Cornus florida rubra figured in the Revue horticole in 1894. Image Biodiversity Heritage Library.

The white centres of the involucres on an old red-bracted Cornus florida at the Scott Arboretum, Pennsylvania suggest it is Parsons' original 'Flore Rubro' (April 2009). Image John Grimshaw.

Pink involucres of Cornus florida 'Flore Rubro' (grown as C. florida f. rubra) at the Scott Arboretum, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania (1 May 2011). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

The Scott Arboretum tree seen in full flower (1 May 2011). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

Artistic licence? Bracts of Meehan's Cornus florida 'Flore Rubro' are figured in Meehan's 1894 catalogue as an intense, uniform reddish-pink, without the paler centres of the Parsons clone. Image Wikimedia Commons.

Red-bracted Cornus florida growing at Biltmore Gardens, North Carolina, corresponding to André's 1889 description of Parsons' 'Flore Rubro' clone (17 April 1992). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

'Fragrant Cloud'

Broad, white bracts, said to be fragrant, though Cappiello and Shadow (2005) find it only faintly so. Discovered in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in 1968, introduced by Chase Nursery, Alabama.

'Green Glow'

Large green leaves with a lighter-green central golden blaze; vigorous and upright with good autumn colour (Cappiello & Shadow 2005); introduced by Glen Handy of Handy Nursery, Portland, Oregon before 1974 (Santamour & McArdle 1985; Handy Nursery 2025).