Creamy spring blooms, tidy four-season structure, and a healthier dogwood story for real-life yards
FEATURES:
- Upright, gently spreading form with a naturally “composed” canopy that reads classic and refined
- Spring display starts creamy white with a hint of green, with overlapping bracts that form a deep cup
- Blooms later in spring, landing in that sweet spot after traditional flowering dogwoods and before kousa types
- Dark green foliage stays clean-looking through the season, then turns purple-red to red in fall
- Sterile selection with no fruit, so it stays tidy around patios, walks, and driveways
- Hand Selected; Fresh from the Grower
- Ships on our trucks because of the size of the tree – does not fit in a box
Bower & Branch Landscape Design Tip:
Give this tree a generous mulch ring to keep roots cool and happy, then frame it with calm, dark greens like boxwood or inkberry and a softer, feathery layer like ferns or ornamental grasses, because that contrast makes the creamy spring blooms look even brighter and the purple-red fall color feel downright intentional, like your yard has a stylist.
Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 6-8
- Mature Height: 18-25' tall
- Mature Width: 18-25' wide
- Exposure: Full Sun/Part Shade
- Spacing: 18-25' apart
Celestial® Rutgers Dogwood
Bower & Branch Trees and Plants
Cornus kousa x florida 'Rutdan' PP7,204
Regular price| Quantity | Automatic Savings |
|---|---|
| Buy 2 | Save $200 |
| Buy 3 | Save $500 |
| Buy 4 | Save $800 |
| Buy 6 | Save $1800 |
| Buy 10 or more | Save $4000 |
Plant with Confidence when choosing Big & Tall Trees and Hedges!
Creamy spring blooms, tidy four-season structure, and a healthier dogwood story for real-life yards
FEATURES:
- Upright, gently spreading form with a naturally “composed” canopy that reads classic and refined
- Spring display starts creamy white with a hint of green, with overlapping bracts that form a deep cup
- Blooms later in spring, landing in that sweet spot after traditional flowering dogwoods and before kousa types
- Dark green foliage stays clean-looking through the season, then turns purple-red to red in fall
- Sterile selection with no fruit, so it stays tidy around patios, walks, and driveways
- Hand Selected; Fresh from the Grower
- Ships on our trucks because of the size of the tree – does not fit in a box
Bower & Branch Landscape Design Tip:
Give this tree a generous mulch ring to keep roots cool and happy, then frame it with calm, dark greens like boxwood or inkberry and a softer, feathery layer like ferns or ornamental grasses, because that contrast makes the creamy spring blooms look even brighter and the purple-red fall color feel downright intentional, like your yard has a stylist.
Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 6-8
- Mature Height: 18-25' tall
- Mature Width: 18-25' wide
- Exposure: Full Sun/Part Shade
- Spacing: 18-25' apart
Why plant Celestial® Rutgers Dogwood?
East meets West in this healthy, robust Rutgers Hybrid Dogwood tree that’s easy for even novice gardeners to grow. Celestial® Dogwood (a.k.a. ‘Galaxy’) is a small, upright, ornamental tree that will grace your landscape with loads of large snow-white flowers in spring and ruby-red foliage in fall. Blooming as its Flowering Dogwood “father” fades and before its Japanese Kousa Dogwood “mother” begins, the hybrid Celestial® bridges the gap between these two heavy hitters of spring and looks sweet with irises and columbines planted at its feet.
Forty years ago America’s beloved Flowering Dogwood tree—considered by many to be America’s favorite flowering tree—was threatened by a one-two punch of a pest called Dogwood borer and a disease called Dogwood anthracnose. In the 1970s, legendary plant breeder Dr. Elwin Orton of Rutgers University devised a plan to improve the disease resistance of Flowering Dogwood by hybridizing it with the naturally disease-resistant Asian “Kousa” Dogwood. Dr. Orton’s brilliant program has yielded a bumper crop of fantastic new hybrid Dogwood trees for the garden, including Celestial® Dogwood, the first introduction. It may sound a little funny to think of a tree as an “invention,” but Dr. Orton was inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 2012 for his visionary work.
How to use Celestial® Rutgers Dogwood in the landscape?
This is a hybrid between Florida and Kousa Dogwoods. It is very vigorous, blooms heavily, and is resistant to the common Dogwood problems. Large flower bracts open pure white and appear after florida blooms but before kousa blooms. No fruit is produced on this dapper specimen, and it will dress up your front entryway or patio with style, without overwhelming the space.
How To Plant Celestial® Rutgers Dogwood
Because the Celestial® Dogwood tree has such an excellent genetic makeup, several common Dogwood problems are essentially eliminated. The risk of this hybrid tree contracting the anthracnose or borer issues that purebred Flowering Dogwoods sometimes succumb to is virtually nil. All that is left for you to do is to make sure this tree is satisfied in its cultural requirements. Regular irrigation and freely draining soil are the biggies—Rutgers Dogwoods don’t like to dry out, but they can’t sit for too long with “wet feet.” Full sun or light shade is best.
How To Water
Water weekly, or better yet, use the Bower & Branch® Water Element to deliver just the right amount of moisture to your tree throughout the growing season.
How To Prune
Pruning may not be needed but is best done shortly after the flowers are spent.
Frequently Asked Questions
The showy bracts open creamy white with a light green tinge, then can mature with soft pink tones as the bloom ages.
Plant in well-drained, organic-rich soil, water deeply and consistently through the first growing season, and keep a mulch ring to protect roots and retain moisture. It performs best in sun to part shade.
Prune lightly after flowering or in late winter to remove dead, damaged, or crossing branches. Aim for better airflow and a clean structure rather than heavy shaping.
