Do you think it’s challenging to grow beautiful Dogwood trees in Toronto?
I would love for it to look like this particular one.
White Dogwood
Thank you for contacting the Toronto Master Gardeners with your gardening question.
When planted in an ideal location this tree makes a spectacular statement in the landscape. with its showy clusters of white flowers.
Flowering dogwood 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 leaves in alkaline soils.
This tree 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 during the winter to protect it from temperature fluctuations in exposed locations where temperatures fall below -23 C.
Clemson University provides an excellent fact sheet on this beautiful tree.