Cornus Florida Daybreak Flowering Dogwood

Cornus Florida Daybreak is an RHS AGM-winning deciduous tree with beautiful variegated foliage and creamy white flower bracts in summer. It’s an excellent choice for informal mixed borders.

Cornus Florida is native to north America where it grows in a variety of woodland and mixed hedgerow settings. The cultivar Daybreak is named for its sunrise mix of variegated grey-green foliage with creamy margins that mature to pink and red in autumn before falling with the first frosts. In spring, just after the foliage has unfolded, somewhat inconspicuous flowers bloom surrounded by stunning creamy white bracts.

This lovely, well-tested flowering dogwood has ornamental value in all seasons and complements acers with its strong autumnal colour.

Height And Spread of Cornus Florida Daybreak
Flowering Dogwood Daybreak reaches four to eight metres in height and spread over 10-20 years.

How Hardy Is Cornus Florida Daybreak
It’s hardy in most places down to freezing temperatures if its roots are well drained. Dogwoods are drought-hardy once established and are rarely bothered by pests.

How To Use Cornus Florida Daybreak
Daybreak is a lovely addition to mixed informal borders where its cream, green and pinky-red foliage add lots of interesting colour. It copes well in coastal aspects and enjoys a cottage border or the fence line of an urban courtyard.

This versatile dogwood is a flower arranger’s ‘go-to’ for foliage displays and it’s low maintenance enough for the busiest of gardeners.

How To Care For Cornus Florida Daybreak
Flowering Dogwood Daybreak is an easy-care high-impact option for the majority of gardens.
It likes a sunny to partially sunny spot in well-drained but moist soil. Like most dogwoods, it prefers neutral to acidic soil but will cope with alkaline ground if you top it up with acidic-based mulch.
Pruning isn’t necessary, but crossed or damaged branches can be cut out in late winter to early spring before the new growth appears. Water well until it’s established and mulch each spring with well-rotted organic matter.