Wedding cake tree

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; light afternoon shade helps prevent leaf scorch in warmer areas.

Water

Keep the root zone evenly moist but not waterlogged. Water deeply during dry spells, especially while establishing.

Soil

Fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soil, preferably slightly acidic to neutral. Avoid drought-prone sand, shallow chalk and persistently waterlogged ground.

Height

20-30 ft (6-9 m), occasionally taller with age

Spread

20-30 ft (6-9 m)

Flowers

Late spring to early summer; small creamy-white flowers in broad, flat clusters.

Foliage

Broad green leaves with irregular creamy-white margins, arranged alternately along the branches; autumn colour may include pink, red and purple.

Growth

Slow to moderate; the tiered framework takes several years to develop.

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Wildlife
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2.2 m)

3. After 2 years

   8 ft (2.4 m)

4. After 3 years

   9 ft (2.6 m)

5. After 5 years

   10 ft (3.1 m)

About 26 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Growth rate

Slow

• Plant where the full canopy can spread without regular cutting back.
• Water deeply during dry weather for the first two to three growing seasons, and during prolonged drought thereafter.
• Apply a 2-3 in (5-8 cm) organic mulch over the root area, keeping it clear of the trunk.
• Top-dress with compost in spring; use fertiliser only if growth is weak and soil fertility is low.
• Stake only if the root ball moves in wind, using a low, flexible tie; remove the stake once the roots hold firmly.

Pruning. Prune sparingly in late autumn to midwinter, during dry, frost-free weather, removing dead, damaged or crossing branches without disturbing the horizontal tiers. Cut any entirely green reverted shoots back to their point of origin as soon as you notice them.

Early spring

Check ties and renew mulch without piling it against the trunk.

Late spring

Check new growth for entirely green reverted shoots and remove them at their origin.

Summer

Water deeply during dry spells and watch for browning leaf margins.

Autumn

Plant while the soil is moist and workable, avoiding frozen or waterlogged conditions.

Late autumn

Inspect the bare framework and remove only dead, damaged or badly crossing branches.

Winter

Check newly planted trees after strong winds and loosen any tight ties.

• Use as a lawn specimen with open space around it so the horizontal branch tiers remain visible.
• Place at a woodland edge above shade-tolerant perennials, keeping taller shrubs away from the lower branches.
• Set against dark evergreen planting to make the cream leaf margins stand out.
• Use beside a broad path or seating area as a focal point, allowing for its mature spread.

Garden styles it suits: Architectural minimal, Woodland, Japanese, English country, White garden and Pacific Northwest woodland.

Plant it with: Japanese painted fern, Hosta, Hellebore, Japanese forest grass, Siberian bugloss and Snowdrop.

Wildlife: Flower clusters provide pollen and nectar for visiting insects. Small blue-black fruits, when produced, are eaten by birds, and the branching canopy provides shelter.

• Leaf scorch: brown margins often follow drought, hot wind or strong afternoon sun; water deeply, mulch and provide a sheltered position.
• Green reversion: vigorous shoots with plain green leaves can overwhelm the variegated growth; remove them completely at their origin.
• Powdery mildew: improve airflow without heavily thinning the tree, avoid excess nitrogen and collect badly affected fallen leaves.
• Cankers and branch dieback: remove affected branches back to healthy wood in dry weather, disinfect tools between cuts and correct drought or drainage stress.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses, although information specific to this cultivar is limited. The fruits are not a recommended human food; eating plant material may cause digestive upset.

• Variegated pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia 'Argentea')

  Also has cream-edged, alternate leaves and tiered branches, but usually forms a smaller tree or large shrub with smaller leaves.

• Giant dogwood (Cornus controversa)

  The unvariegated species has the same layered habit and alternate leaves, but its foliage is green without cream margins.

• Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa)

  Has opposite leaves and conspicuous four-pointed white or pink flower bracts, followed by rounded red fruits; wedding cake tree has alternate leaves and flat clusters of small flowers.

The common name refers to the stacked, spreading branch tiers resembling a wedding cake, while 'Variegata' describes the cream-marked foliage.

Propagation. Usually propagated by grafting or budding onto suitable dogwood rootstock; this is specialist work. Seedlings do not reliably retain the cream-edged foliage or other cultivar characteristics.

Accepted botanical name

Cornus controversa

Native range

China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Hainan, Japan, Korea, Kuril Is., Manchuria, Myanmar, Nepal and Taiwan.

Measured

Average height 1005 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0) and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.