Cherokee Daybreak Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida 'Cherokee Daybreak'
A beautiful specimen tree, famous for its delicate white blooms, and lovely variegated foliage; requires rich, well-drained acidic soil and adequate precipitation, best with some shelter
Features and Growing Tips
Note: Each live plant is unique and may differ from the photo while maintaining its beauty. Plants come in a plastic pot; other items in images are not included.
Landscape Qualities
Cherokee Daybreak Flowering Dogwood is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous tree with a stunning habit of growth which features almost oriental horizontally-tiered branches. Its average texture blends into the landscape | but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
Ornamental Qualities
Cherokee Daybreak Flowering Dogwood features showy clusters of white flowers with white bracts held atop the branches in mid spring. It has attractive creamy white-variegated light green foliage. The pointy leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding yellow in the fall. It produces red berries from early to late fall. The warty gray bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape.
Planting and Growing
Cherokee Daybreak Flowering Dogwood will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity | with a spread of 15 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 3 feet from the ground | and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate | and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.
This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from hot | dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight | such as against the south side of a white wall. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth | but will die in standing water. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich | acidic soils to ensure success | and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution | therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided | and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selection of a native North American species.
Plant Facts
Prefers full sun to partial shade
Keep moisture level moist
Mature Size 20'Hx15'W
Flowers are white
Flowers in mid spring
Attracts birds
Fall color yellow
Zone 4b
Likes well drained soil