Cornus Kousa Schmetterling

Cornus Kousa Schmetterling
 

Cornus Kousa Schmetterling (more commonly known as Japanese Dogwood 'Butterfly') is a profuse flowering ornamental dogwood tree. Schmetterling (butterfly) has an upright growing habit and will eventually reach a height of around 3 to 4 metres, a nice compact size for smaller gardens and an ideal ornamental tree.

As with most of the Cornus Kousa Dogwoods, Schmetterling’s flowers are very numerous and even as a young plant, it flowers with abundance.

The flowers which arrive around about June, quite soon after new foliage has begun to settle in, are made of pure white bracts, which assume a slight pink discoloration on touch. The blooms are large and showy and have a diameter of around 20cm.

After the flowering period, which lasts around 3 weeks, Cornus Kousa Schmetterling produces an edible fruit, which is raspberry reddish in colour and looks in fact like a cross between a raspberry and a strawberry. These fruit, which are highly ornamental are circa one inch in diameter.
To eat, they are very sweet and pleasant, though they tend to have many seeds.

More interest following in winters as the leaves turn fiery red, orange and yellow.

Cornus Kousa Schmetterling prefers full sun and soil with plenty of drainage.