Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa 'Snow Tower')
Cornus kousa 'Snow Tower' is a striking upright columnar Kousa dogwood offering abundant white blooms and excellent fall color.
Complete Plant Information
Overview
The Cornus kousa ‘Snow Tower’ provides spectacular vertical interest, making it a highly sought-after specimen tree. As a columnar cultivar of the Kousa dogwood, it delivers the same reliable late-spring beauty but within a much narrower footprint, ideal for tight landscape spaces. Gardeners prize this Kousa dogwood for its extended bloom period and its attractive multi-seasonal appeal, including interesting bark and good autumn foliage.
This deciduous tree matures rapidly into an upright shape, perfect for use as an accent or screen where space is limited. Its cultural requirements are straightforward, preferring rich, well-drained soil and consistent moisture to achieve its best performance throughout the summer months. The resulting structure offers significant aesthetic value without the maintenance burden often associated with more sprawling flowering trees.
For structure and reliable seasonal color, few small trees rival the impact of Cornus kousa ‘Snow Tower’. It offers an excellent alternative where diseases plague the native flowering dogwood, providing superior resistance while delivering exceptional ornamental traits across its crown.
Fast Facts
- Plant Family: Cornaceae
- Plant Type: Tree
- Hardiness Zones: USDA Zones 5-8
- Size at Maturity:
- Height: 10-15 ft
- Spread: 4-8 ft
- Bloom Time: May to June
- Bloom Description: White
- Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
- Water Needs: Medium
- Maintenance Level: Low
How to Grow
Planting the Cornus kousa ‘Snow Tower’ is best achieved in spring or early fall, ensuring the root ball establishes before extreme weather hits. Locate this Kousa dogwood in humusy, organically rich soils that are consistently moist but drain very well. Slightly acidic to neutral pH levels are ideal for vigorous growth.
During the summer growing season, ensure the tree receives regular moisture, especially in hotter, full-sun locations, as drying out can lead to leaf scorch. Fertilization is rarely necessary if the soil is naturally rich, but a spring application of a balanced, slow-release fertilizer can support robust flowering and foliage development. Minimal pruning is required, focusing only on removing crossing or damaged branches when dormant.
This cultivar exhibits excellent cold hardiness and disease resistance compared to other dogwoods. No significant winter preparation is usually needed in established zones, though new plantings benefit from a thick layer of mulch to regulate soil temperature and retain that critical medium moisture level.
Landscape Uses
The upright, columnar habit of Cornus kousa ‘Snow Tower’ makes it uniquely versatile for formal and contemporary designs. It excels as a tall, narrow specimen tree planted near patios or entrances where a strong vertical accent is needed without excessive lateral spread onto walkways. This structure also lends itself well to planting as a street tree alternative in residential areas that require defined overhead screening.
In mixed plantings, use the tree where excellent fall color is desired near the top of shrub borders, allowing lower-growing woodland plants to benefit from the filtered light beneath its canopy. Because it offers year-round interest—spring flowers, attractive summer fruit, red fall foliage, and interesting bark—the structure of Cornus kousa ‘Snow Tower’ performs beautifully in bird gardens or naturalized areas needing height variation.
Standout Features
Flower Qualities
- Showy
Fruit Qualities
- Showy
- Edible
Noteworthy Characteristics
The Kousa dogwood is renowned for its bloom, where the showy “flowers” are actually four pointed, petal-like white bracts surrounding inconspicuous true flowers. This columnar cultivar, ‘Snow Tower’, often blooms slightly later, typically in June, with bracts reaching up to 7 inches wide. Foliage turns attractive shades of red in autumn, and the mottled, exfoliating bark provides winter interest.
Tolerances
- Deer
Potential Problems
One key advantage of this Kousa dogwood is its strong resistance to common dogwood diseases, offering a much safer planting choice than Cornus florida in areas prone to anthracnose. The main potential issue arises in exposed, full-sun sites where soil moisture management fails. If the tree is allowed to dry out severely during hot summers, leaf scorch may become visible, impacting its aesthetic quality until the next growing season. Maintaining consistent, medium moisture is the primary preventative strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hardiness zones is Kousa dogwood suitable for?
The Cornus kousa ‘Snow Tower’ is reliable for gardeners gardening within USDA Zones 5 through 8.
How large does Cornus kousa ‘Snow Tower’ grow?
This cultivar maintains a relatively narrow profile, typically reaching 10 to 15 feet tall and spreading between 4 and 8 feet wide at maturity.
What sun exposure does Kousa dogwood need?
For the best display of bloom and foliage color, plant Cornus kousa ‘Snow Tower’ where it receives full sun to partial shade conditions.
When does Cornus kousa ‘Snow Tower’ bloom?
This specific selection blooms slightly later than some relatives, typically showcasing its showy white bracts from May into June.
Conclusion
The Cornus kousa ‘Snow Tower’ stands out as a superb choice for adding vertical structure and reliable, late-season flowering interest to smaller gardens or structured landscapes. Its low maintenance profile and strong disease resistance make the Kousa dogwood a dependable performer. Before planting, confirm your site falls within USDA Zones 5 to 8 and ensure the soil conditions are rich and well-drained.
Companion Planting
Due to the preference of Cornus kousa ‘Snow Tower’ for organically rich, acidic to neutral soil, consider pairing it with other woodland edge plants that share similar cultural needs. Hostas, especially those with blue or variegated foliage, provide excellent textural contrast beneath the canopy, benefiting from the dappled, partial shade the dogwood may cast during intense afternoon heat. Acid-loving shrubs like Azaleas and Rhododendrons thrive in the same soil profile, creating a unified, colorful understory display around this specimen tree.
Wildlife Benefits
The fruit produced by the Kousa dogwood is technically edible, though often left on the tree, where it serves as an important late-season food source for various birds. While the bracts themselves are not nectar sources for many pollinators, the true inconspicuous flowers preceding the fruit often attract smaller beneficial insects. Planting ‘Snow Tower’ near a water feature enhances its appeal to local bird populations attracted to the persistent, showy red fruit in the fall.
