Cornus kousa Samaritan - Flowering Dogwood

Cornus kousa Samaritan, also known as Cornus kousa Samaritan ('Samzam'), is a splendid deciduous small tree with a beautiful habit. It is robust, vigorous, highly disease-resistant, and possesses extraordinary ornamental qualities! It displays remarkable and bright variegated foliage, with undulating leaves of a beautiful green margined with cream, which turn pink and burgundy in autumn. Its trunk exhibits beautifully fissured bark. Very floriferous, it is adorned in May-June with a multitude of elegant bracts of white-green, then cream flowers, followed by small fleshy red fruits. An extremely decorative shrub, with attractive colours, from spring to autumn! A guaranteed spectacle almost all year round!

Cornus kousa, native to China, Japan and Korea, belongs to the Cornaceae family. The recent creation Cornus kousa Samaritan is a small tree with a conical silhouette and a spreading habit, with staggered lower branches. Its trunk has a cracked bark. It has a medium growth rate, reaching a height of 4 m to 6 m (13.1 ft to 19.7 ft) and a spread of 3 m to 4 m (9.8 ft to 13.1 ft). It has dense variegated deciduous foliage, composed of narrow, ovate and pointed leaves with undulated edges, bright green with white-cream edges, measuring 5 cm to 8 cm (2 in to 3.1 in) long. In autumn, its foliage flares up with spectacular pink and dark crimson-purple hues. From May to June, it is covered with tiny green flowers, 0.5 cm to 1 cm (0.2 in to 0.4 in) in diameter, grouped in clusters, each surrounded by four bracts measuring 3 cm to 5 cm (1.2 in to 2 in) long. The bracts are very pointed, white-cream, turning pink over time. In late summer, the flowers develop into small fleshy spherical fruits carried by long peduncles, red in colour and resembling strawberries.

Cornus kousa Samaritan requires little maintenance and is particularly resistant to diseases. It is tolerant to both heat and cold, and thrives in both sunny and partially shaded locations. It prefers fertile, moist to wet, well-drained, and slightly acidic soil. This variety is incredibly ornamental throughout the seasons, thanks to its superb variegated green-white foliage, abundant flowering, unique red fruiting, and stunning autumn colours. It is well-suited for small gardens due to its relative size and balanced habit. It can be planted in full sun, but its variegated foliage will be best highlighted in a partially shaded location. It will be perfect in the middle or background of an ericaceous bed, accompanied by Hydrangeas, Rhododendrons, summer-flowering and/or colourful foliage shrubs. Placed in the foreground under the canopy of large trees, its magnificent variegated foliage will spectacularly illuminate dark green evergreen foliage. It pairs well with Japanese Maples, Anemone Trees, or Magnolias.