Cornus florida Cherokee Sunset - Flowering Dogwood

Cornus florida Cherokee Sunset is distinguished by its red-pink bracts in spring. In late summer, it produces decorative red and shiny berries. This variety is also appreciated for its attractive variegated foliage from spring to autumn. Its leaves are edged in pink in spring, then turn yellow in summer. And in autumn, the leaves take on shades of pink and purple before falling. A beautiful bush to plant as a specimen, in a flower bed or an informal hedge, in full sun or partial shade.

The American flowering dogwood was introduced to Europe in 1847. This large deciduous shrub is native to northeastern North America. It grows in the understory and forest edges and was used by Native Americans for its astringent properties. Today, it is not used in herbal medicine. The species, florida (meaning "flowered"), has white flowers unlike the 'Cherokee Sunset' variety, which is covered in red-pink flowers in spring. It is not actually the flowers that are coloured, but the bracts that surround the flower. The green flowers are in unattractive clusters. The four bracts surrounding them resemble petals and make the flowering spectacular. In autumn, it produces round and shiny drupe fruits, about 1 to 2 cm (0 to 1in) in diameter, which are not edible, except to birds.
Cherokee Sunset flowering dogwood has a rounded, irregular and well-branched shape. It is slow-growing and can reach 4 to 6 m (13 to 20ft) high and almost as wide.
This variety is also distinguished by its particularly decorative variegated foliage. The oval and pointed leaves measure between 10 and 15 cm (4 and 6in) long. When they emerge, they are green, edged in pink. Then the pink turns yellow. In autumn, before falling, they take on shades ranging from pink to violet, passing through purple. It's a true festival of colours.

In a small garden, this 'Cherokee Sunset' dogwood will be beautiful as a specimen on a lawn, where it can create a Japanese effect. It can provide shade on a terrace. In a larger garden, it will naturally fit well in a flower bed or a natural, flowering hedge. Combine it with shrubs that bloom early in the season and are appreciated for their uniqueness, such as 'Amethyst' witch hazel with its purple-pink flowers, 'Tinkerbell' lilac with its pale pink and fragrant flowers, or the 'Beauclerk' mock orange with fragrant white flowers, speckled with pink. It prefers acidic soils, so can also be planted alongside rhododendrons and azaleas in an ericaceous border.