Cornus kousa Scarlet Fire - Flowering Dogwood

Cornus kousa Scarlet Fire is a new American selection that combines many qualities. This extraordinary Japanese dogwood is remarkable for the truly pink colour of its large floral bracts, which can be seen from afar and enjoyed for nearly 6 weeks in late spring. Its other assets include a beautiful tiered habit, in a 'pagoda' shape, quick flowering from a young age, good disease resistance, young shoots with a lovely purple tinge, and very beautiful round berries in carmine-fuchsia colour, which ripen during a long hot summer. Very hardy and easier to grow than its cousin Cornus florida, this beautiful shrub deserves to be planted more. Give it a prominent place, preferably in partial shade, in a large shrub border.

Cornus kousa is a small tree or large shrub, native to Japan, China, and Korea. Its striking silhouette, supported by tiered and horizontal branches, gives it a very Japanese look. After many years of research and intensive selection and hybridisation work, Scarlet Fire was introduced in the USA in 2017. It has the most colourful flowering ever observed in this type of plant. This cultivar has slow growth but can reach 4.5 m to 6 m (14.8 ft to 19.7 ft) in height and 2.5 m to 4.5 m (8.2 ft to 14.8 ft) in width after many years.

Flowering takes place in May-June, on plants aged 3 to 4 years. The shrub is adorned with a multitude of 'flowers', which are actually inflorescences, measuring approximately 12 cm to 13 cm (4.7 in to 5.1 in) in diameter. These are clusters of small true flowers, green in colour, surrounded by 4 pointed bracts forming a star. Their colour changes from dark pink to fuchsia pink, through various shades of paler pink over the course of the 6 weeks that these bracts live. They are arranged on the tree as if they were placed on the foliage. The flowers are followed by fruits measuring 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter, ranging from pink to carmine-red in colour, resembling strawberries. The higher the summer temperatures, the more abundant the fruiting. The fruits are edible, fleshy, with a sweet taste, but they do not have a real culinary interest, although they add to the charm of this large shrub at the end of the season. It is also remarkable for its young leaves tinted coppery purple. Their colour quickly turns to bright green. The leaves are ovate, strongly veined, and slightly undulate on the edges. They measure 5 cm to 8 cm (2 in to 3.1 in) long and are arranged opposite each other along the branches. They often display beautiful autumn colours before falling.

Scarlet Fire thrives in continental climates, with distinct summers and winters, but performs very well in milder areas. In hot regions, it should be planted in a sheltered spot away from scorching sun. This Japanese dogwood is still rare in gardens but yet very easy to grow once it has been carefully planted. It alone makes a beautiful attraction and deserves to be planted as a specimen, standing out in the middle of a lawn for example. It will also be advantageous at the back of a border composed of heather or shrubs with staggered flowering or evergreen foliage. Choose, for example, to accompany it with oakleaf or paniculate hydrangeas, Japanese maples with purple foliage, a Fothergilla or a Tetradium daniellii, the bee tree.