Kousa Dogwood Tree Seeds (Cornus Kousa)

The dogwood that blooms in June. The one that makes fruit.

Cornus kousa, the Kousa Dogwood, blooms a full four to six weeks after the native White Flowering Dogwood, extending the dogwood season into early summer with white to pale pink pointed bracts that have a different, more star-like form than the rounded bracts of the native species. It is also more disease-resistant, virtually immune to the dogwood anthracnose that devastates Cornus florida, and produces distinctive red raspberry-like fruits in late summer that are edible, sweet, and relished by birds and wildlife. The exfoliating bark that develops on mature specimens, revealing patches of tan, gray, and cream beneath the outer layer, creates year-round ornamental interest even when the tree is not in flower or fruit. If you are looking to buy Kousa Dogwood seeds or grow this ornamental flowering tree from seed, this is the dogwood with the longest combined season of interest of any ornamental tree in a temperate garden.

• Pointed, star-like white bracts in June, four to six weeks after native dogwoods have finished
• Virtually immune to dogwood anthracnose that devastates the native White Flowering Dogwood
• Red raspberry-like edible fruits in late summer eaten by birds and wildlife
• Exfoliating bark on mature specimens revealing patches of tan, gray, and cream beneath
• Brilliant scarlet and purple fall foliage, one of the most complete four-season ornamental trees available

Things you probably did not know about the Kousa Dogwood

The fruit is edible and has a tropical custard-like flavor when fully ripe. Kousa Dogwood fruit, which looks like a large red raspberry or lychee, has a soft, custard-like flesh with a mild, sweet, slightly tropical flavor when fully ripe in late summer. It can be eaten fresh or used in preserves. The flavor is more interesting and complex than its obscurity in western cuisine suggests, and it is consumed regularly in Japan and Korea where the tree is native.

It was used medicinally in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine. The bark, fruit, and roots of Kousa Dogwood have been used in traditional East Asian medicine for fever, joint pain, and urinary conditions. Modern pharmacological research has identified ursolic acid and other bioactive compounds in Kousa Dogwood fruit and bark that have demonstrated anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-tumor properties in laboratory studies.

The bracts are modified leaves not petals. The four white structures that make the Kousa Dogwood display so spectacular are bracts, modified leaves that surround the cluster of actual tiny flowers at the center, exactly as in the native White Flowering Dogwood. The bracts of Kousa Dogwood are more pointed and less rounded than those of the native species, giving the flower head a sharper, more star-like outline that many gardeners find more elegant.

It is significantly longer-lived than the native dogwood in many landscape situations. White Flowering Dogwood, while beautiful, tends to be relatively short-lived in landscape settings outside its natural woodland edge habitat, often declining within 20 to 30 years. Kousa Dogwood routinely survives 50 years or more in similar conditions and maintains its ornamental quality throughout a much longer life, making it a more permanent investment in the landscape.

Growing Details

• Botanical Name: Cornus kousa
• Stratification: Required, warm stratification of 60 days followed by 90 days cold stratification
• USDA Zones: 5 to 8
• Soil: Well-drained, moist, slightly acidic, rich in organic matter
• Light: Full sun to partial shade, best flowering and fruit in full sun
• Height: 15 to 30 feet
• Spread: 15 to 30 feet
• Growth Rate: Slow to moderate, 1 to 1.5 feet per year

Plant it where the June flowers will be visible from a seating area or window. Then notice the bark in January and the fruit in August. Every season gives you something different to look at.