small tree
Pagoda dogwood
Cornus alternifolia
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Hardy in zones 3–7, Pagoda dogwood is a deciduous small tree. It grows 15–20 ft tall and 15–20 ft wide, so plant it 16 ft apart. Give it part sun to shade and average water. It flowers white in May to June. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the anchor role: the one larger plant that anchors the back of a bigger bed. It is native to the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest. Deer may browse it when other food is short, and it is not listed as toxic to dogs or cats. Our rules leave it out of lists in the Southeast, Florida and the Gulf, Texas and the South-Central states and the Desert Southwest, where summer heat, humidity or mild winters hold it back even inside its zone range.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Cornus alternifolia
- Plant type
- Small tree, deciduous
- Hardiness zones
- 3 to 7
- Sun
- Part sun (4–6 hours); Part shade (2–4 hours); Shade (under 2 hours)
- Water
- Medium
- Soil
- Needs cool, moist, acidic soil; mulch the root zone.
- Mature size
- 15–20 ft tall × 15–20 ft wide
- Spacing
- 16 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Bloom
- May–Jun · white
- Roles in a bed
- Anchor
- Styles
- natural
- Deer resistance
- Medium: browsed when deer are hungry
- Pets
- Not listed as toxic to dogs or cats. Not on the ASPCA toxic list; no known toxic compounds.
- Native to
- Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest
- Pot size and price
- 5-gallon pot, typically $50–$90 (sometimes stocked)
- Plant in
- Spring or Fall
- First-year watering
- Water deeply once or twice a week through the first summer, more in heat waves, so the root ball never dries out.
- Pruning
- Prune only dead or crossing branches, in late winter.
Sources: Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder; ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list; Rutgers NJAES deer resistance ratings (A-D); state noxious weed lists / Invasive Plant Atlas of the US; typical 2026 US garden-centre and big-box listings. Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Pagoda dogwood, across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- Arrowwood viburnum 'Blue Muffin'Viburnum dentatum 'Christom'shrub · zones 3–8
- Bee balmMonarda didymaperennial · zones 4–9
- Black-eyed Susan 'Goldsturm'Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm'perennial · zones 4–9
- Blazing starLiatris spicataperennial · zones 3–8
- Creeping phloxPhlox subulatagroundcover · zones 3–9
- New England aster 'Purple Dome'Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'Purple Dome'perennial · zones 4–8
If you can't find it
Plants that do the same job and pass the same rules for the conditions Pagoda dogwood suits.
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants