Cornus Venus®

U.S. Plant Patent #16,309

As gorgeous as its namesake, Venus® covers itself from head to toe in perfect 4-petaled blooms of pure snow white. Because of its gorgeous display, this showy Dogwood has won several awards, including "Most Successful New Plant" at PLANTARIUM 2007 and "Best Novelty of the Year" at IPM 2008.

One look at a Venus® in full bloom will show you what the fuss is all about. The spring- to early summer-blooms are exquisitely formed, with perfect round edges and just a bit of ruffling. The exceptionally large (over 6 inches across!) white blooms absolutely blanket the tree with their snow-white faces. Venus® is extremely floriferous, producing compact, dense heads of floral bracts. These blooms are long-lasting, as well, holding on for 3 weeks or more!

Venus® has a relatively compact habit, growing slowly to a mature height and width of 15 to 20 feet. The top baloons out, growing just slightly wider than it is tall. The foliage is thickly branched and covered in glossy green foliage that turns red in the fall. It even produces a strawberry-like ornamental fruit through the fall months.

This cross between the Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) and Korean Dogwood (Cornus kousa) is healthier and more robust than either parent. Venus® exhibits excellent pest and disease resistance: no insect or disease problems have been observed during the plant's field testing, and in particular it displayed a resistance to powdery mildew and anthracnose.

Venus® can be grown in well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. It prefers moist, organically rich, acidic soils and will benefit from a 2- to 4-inch layer of mulch, which helps keep the roots cool and moist in summer. This healthy Dogwood has a reputation for good tolerance of drought conditions, and will grow very vigorously under the right conditions.

This plant exhibits great cold hardiness in zone 6, with no winter die-back. Zones 5-9. Give it full sun in the North and part-shade in the South.