Mexican Flowering Dogwood Tree

Mexican Flowering Dogwood is a rare deciduous dogwood from Mexico, also called Pringle flowering dogwood. Its narrow, folded white bracts stay partly closed, giving the spring display a lantern-like outline distinct from the broader bracts of eastern flowering dogwood. ## Form and seasonal display The Dawes Arboretum describes a tree about 20 feet tall and roughly half as wide, with foliage that persists later than that of the familiar eastern dogwood. Leaves turn reddish in autumn, and glossy red fruits are readily eaten by birds. The source lists USDA zone 5; upper-range suitability can vary with provenance and site. ## Placement Use this unusual form as a specimen where the pale bracts can be seen against a dark background. Allow for its narrow upright outline and provide well-drained soil. It is reported resistant to dogwood anthracnose, though routine observation for pests and environmental stress remains useful. Botanical sources treat this plant at different ranks; the catalog name is retained while the arboretum account uses Cornus florida subsp. urbiniana. [Dawes Arboretum taxon account](https://dawesarb.arboretumexplorer.org/taxon-31145.aspx) · [USDA GRIN taxonomy](https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=11982) ## Maintenance Water during establishment and extended dry periods. Keep the root zone well drained, avoid wounding the trunk, and prune only to remove dead or damaged growth.