Cornus hongkongensis Parc de Haute Bretagne - Hong Kong Dogwood

Cornus hongkongensis 'Parc de Haute Bretagne', as its name suggests, was born in the Botanic Park of Haute Bretagne where it stood out, covered in pink bracted flowers in summer among its white-flowering siblings. As well as this generous fragrant flowering, this Hong Kong dogwood has a lovely shape, persistent glossy foliage that is beautifully coloured in spring and autumn, and original and decorative red fruiting. With its rapid growth, this ornamental shrub gives its best in humus-rich, non-chalky soils that remain moist even in summer.

The Hong Kong dogwood, belonging to the Cornaceae family and related to the better-known Cornus kousa, has recently been introduced to Europe. It is native to southern China, Laos, and Vietnam, where it grows in deciduous forests between 600 and 1800 m (1968 ft 6 in and 5905 ft 6 in)in altitude. The 'Parc de Haute Bretagne' cultivar is mainly distinguished by the colour of its flowering. Its growth is fairly rapid, forming a vigorous small tree with a beige bark, furrowed with white grooves which is very decorative in winter. It reaches a height of 3 to 5 m (9 ft 10 in to 16 ft 5 in) with a spread of about 3 m (9 ft 10 in). Its dense, persistent foliage is composed of 8 cm (3.1 in) long, ovate, pointed, leathery, shiny leaves. The young leaves are coppery-purple to bronze, then the foliage becomes bright green, beautifully turning orange to brown-purple in autumn. At this time of year, it often loses some of its leaves. In June-July, this Cornus is covered in a multitude of fragrant flowers surrounded by four large, waxy, light pink bracts. This flowering is followed by an original fruiting in September-October, in the form of round, red fruits that somewhat resemble strawberries.

This robust and fairly hardy Hong Kong dogwood 'Parc de Haute Bretagne' appreciates both partial shade and sun, with a preference for a sheltered position away from cold winds. However, it does not tolerate limestone and dry soils well. An ornamental shrub par excellence, it will be stunning when planted in isolation, where its very decorative character will be highlighted throughout the seasons. It can also be incorporated into a mixed hedge, where its summer flowering and beautiful, persistent, shiny, and dense green foliage will work wonders. It will blend perfectly into a shrub border, alongside other shrubs or small trees such as other dogwoods, low-growing conifers, autumn camellias, Berberis, deciduous euonymus, etc.