Cornus kousa Cultivars J-L

'John Slocock'

An outstanding cultivar, distinctive in its bushy, vase-shaped habit and reliably extremely floriferous: trees in flower are covered in large creamy white, pointed bracts, fading to pink as they age, followed by heavy crops of fruit each year. The glossy foliage is a handsome dark green with prominent yellow veining (Junker’s Nursery 2021). Selected originally by the eponymous Surrey nurseryman, a plant of which he passed to Peter Catt of Liss Forest Nursery, Hampshire, who named it for him posthumously, before propagating and distributing it. The original plant was donated to Nymans, Sussex, where it has made an impressive, free-flowering specimen in the Wall Garden (P. Catt pers. comm. 2022).

The large white bracts of Cornus kousa 'John Slocock'. Image Van Ooi, Reeuwijk.

The large creamy-white bracts of 'John Slocock' are produced in vast quantities in late June, emerging pale green (RHS Garden Wisley; June 2021). Image Jack Aldridge.

Head-turner: 'John Slocock' fruits prolifically each year (RHS Garden Wisley; October 2021). Image Jack Aldridge.

Creamy-white bracts of Cornus kousa 'John Slocock' at RHS Garden Wisley (June 2012). Image John Grimshaw.

Striking pink pigmentation on mature bracts of Cornus kousa 'John Slocock'. Image Torsten Junker, Junker's Nursery - Gardens and Nursery.

'Julian'

White bracts with upturned tips; large fruit and good autumn colour. Selected and introduced by Polly Hill of the Polly Hill Arboretum, Massachusetts, the name commemorating her husband (Cappiello & Shadow 2005).

'July Jubilee'

Dark green foliage, long-lasting inflorescences (Cappiello & Shadow 2005).

'Kalmthout'

Vigorous, with striking, broad bracts. Apparently originated in the Netherlands (RHS Wisley received plants from Mark Bulk, Boskoop), but the association with Kalmthout Arboretum is not clear – Cappiello and Shadow (2005) assert it did not originate there.

'Kea'

Pink-flushed bracts, red autumn foliage colour, to 3 m after 10 years (Esveld 2026).

Striking red-pigmented peduncles subtending the inflorescences of Cornus kousa 'Kea'. Image Van Ooi, Reeuwijk.

'Kim'

Narrow, inconsistently variegated leaves, white bracts splashed with pink (Esveld 2026) – the effect is somewhat inelegant and scruffy.

'Kirkpatrick's Weeping'

Of weeping habit, but capable of forming a small tree if attention is given to early training (Cappiello & Shadow 2005).

'Kordes'

Floriferous (though may vary from year to year) with wide bracts; selected by Kordes Jungpflanzen, Bilsen, Germany (Cappiello & Shadow 2005).

'Koree'

Elegant bracts, tapered at the apices, the bases attenuate; the foliage is rich green, slightly glossy (Baumschule Horstmann 2026).

Young bracts of Cornus kousa 'Koree'. Image Van Ooi, Reeuwijk.

'Kreuzdame'

Large white bracts, the intense orange autumn foliage reputed among the best in the species; forms a broad, layered tree (Junker Nursery 2023).

A young specimen of Cornus kousa 'Kreuzdame' beginning to show the broad spreading habit of the cultivar (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens; June 2021). Image Jack Aldridge.

Appreciated for its superb red-purple autumn colour, 'Kreuzdame' also has handsome, large ivory white bracts (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens; June 2021). Image Jack Aldridge.

Fading involucres of Cornus kousa 'Kreuzdame'. Image Torsten Junker, Junker's Nursery - Gardens and Nursery.

'Kristin Lipka's Variegated Weeper'

A variegated sport of ‘Lustgarten Weeping’ discovered by Robert Lipka, Cedars, Pennsylvania (Moreau et al. 2024; US PP 20020162148 P1) – a ‘stiff’ weeper like the two Lustgarten selections. The leaves are dark green with a creamy-white margin, and the bracts white, initially with greenish margins; shoots may revert (Cappiello & Shadow 2005). Moreau et al. (2024) recovered all of the weeping C. kousa selections as belonging to subsp. kousa, without admixture of subsp. chinensis.

'Laura'

A variegated form with elegant white bracts. The leaves are mid-green with very broad, irregular cream edges, turning dark pink to give exceptional autumn colour. Selected by the Dutch nurseryman Wil Van Ooi, Reeuwijk, who named this, his favourite C. kousa cultivar, after his daughter (van Ooi 2008).

Foliage of Cornus kousa 'Laura'. Image Van Ooi, Reeuwijk.

Autumn foliage of Cornus kousa 'Laura'. Image Van Ooi, Reeuwijk.

An unusual image of Cornus kousa 'Laura' shortly after bud break. Image Van Ooi, Reeuwijk.

'Le Vasterival'

The Great Star^® trade designation is applied by the Pépinières Minier to cultivars selected by Princess Greta Sturdza at her garden, Le Vasterival, Dieppe. This C. kousa selection arose as a chance seedling prior to 2007 and was chosen for its extended flowering period, from June to September (Le Vasterival 2026). Plants are vigorous and well branched, the plentiful inflorescences subtended by white bracts to 10 cm in length (Gayraud 2013; Pépinières Minier 2021).

'Little Beauty'

A squat dwarf (grows 15 cm annually) with variegated leaves and white bracts; selected from a batch of wild-collected South Korean seed by J. C. Raulston in 1993 (Jacobson 1996; Cappiello & Shadow 2005). Of interest as a rare example of Korean material, but found to be sparse flowering and ‘of extremely limited ornamental merit’ by Junker Nursery (2023).

'Little China'

An ‘extreme dwarf’, but very floriferous nevertheless, introduced by Gilardelli, Milan, Italy (Cappiello & Shadow 2005).

'Little Poncho'

A compact selection, reaching only 2.5–3 m in height, with glossy dark-green leaves and non-overlapping white bracts (Dawes Arboretum 2026). Moreau et al. (2024) recovered this as a cultivar of subsp. chinensis.

'Losely'

Forns a small tree to 6 m tall, the topmost leaves turning a bright yellow in full sun, subsequently flushing red; in autumn the tree is covered in golden yellow and orange leaves – selected from a batch of open-pollinated seedlings in Perry, Ohio (US 201200096612 P1; Schmidt & Son 2020).

'LT Alice'

An upright, floriferous selection from the Belgian Pépinières Le Try, the white bracts broad and overlapping, the young foliage purple-tinted and colouring well in autumn; forms a tree 3 m × 2.5 m wide (Pépinière Le Try 2025; Château de Saint-Jean de Beauregard 2026).

'LT Audrey'

Greenish, red-rimmed bracts become soft pink with defined deep pink margins, reminiscent of a softer-pink version of ‘Satomi; foliage red-rimmed like the bracts; selected and introduced by Pépinière Le Try, Belgium; to 4 m in height (Pépinière Le Try 2026; Pépinière Le Try 2023).

Red-rimmed leaves and pink-margined involucres of Cornus kousa 'LT Audrey': the bracts will become soft pink, retaining more intense colour at the extreme margin. Image Koen Camelbeke, Arboretum Wespelaar.

'LT Cerousiana'

Broad, overlapping, white bracts, a seedling of ‘Teutonia’, more compact than the parent; bred by Pépinière Le Try, Belgium (Pépinière Le Try 2023).

'LT Délicatesse'

Red-rimmed leaves and white bracts with intense pinkish marginal staining; introduced by Pépinière Le Try, Belgium (Pépinière Le Try 2025; Pépinière Le Try 2023).

'Lustgarten Weeping'

To 90 cm in height, a unique habit – creeping rather than weeping, if not staked or trained; able to spill down walls or rockeries. From the same seedling batch as ‘Elizabeth Lustgarten’, selected by Jim Cross (Cappiello & Shadow 2005). According to Hatch (2018–2020) plants need at least 10 years to reach their full potential. Moreau et al. (2024) recovered all of the weeping C. kousa cultivars as belonging to subsp. kousa, without admixture of subsp. chinensis; the cultivars in question are closely related, and that weeping trait likely derives from a single source.

Elegantly narrow bracts of Cornus kousa 'Lustgarten Weeping' (Acc. 93996, Wespelaar Arboretum, Haacht, Belgium; June 2004). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.

The pendulous habit of Cornus kousa 'Lustgarten Weeping' (Acc. 93996, Wespelaar Arboretum, Haacht, Belgium; 6 June 2009). Image Philippe de Spoelberch.