Plant Database

Other Names:  Wedding Cake Tree

Description:

Incredible green and white variegated foliage; large tree with gracefully layered branches and wide, rounded form make this tree an excellent specimen; attractive deep blue fruit in late summer; great yellow and green fall color

Ornamental Features

Variegated Giant Dogwood features showy clusters of white flowers with white bracts held atop the branches in early summer. It has attractive white-variegated dark green foliage. The pointy leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding yellow in the fall. It produces navy blue berries from early to late fall. The warty gray bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape.

Landscape Attributes

Variegated Giant Dogwood is a deciduous tree with a stunning habit of growth which features almost oriental horizontally-tiered branches. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Variegated Giant Dogwood is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade

Planting & Growing

Variegated Giant Dogwood will grow to be about 50 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 25 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 4 feet from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 60 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth, but will die in standing water. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.