Disease Resistance and Adaptability of Stellar and Flowering Dogwood Cultivars at Two Alabama Sites

Stellar® dogwood (Cornus florida × kousa) cultivars Aurora®, Constellation®, Celestial™, Ruth Ellen®, and Stellar Pink® were compared with selected flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) cultivars Cherokee Brave®, ‘Cherokee Princess’, ‘Cloud 9’, and ‘Rubra’ in a simulated landscape planting at sites in southwest (USDA Hardiness Zone 8a) and northeast Alabama (USDA Hardiness Zone 7a) for their reaction to the diseases spot anthracnose, powdery mildew, and Cercospora leaf spot. Tree longevity as influenced by the occurrence of the dogwood borer (Synanthedon scitula) and an ambrosia beetle (Xylosandrus sp.) was also assessed at both sites. All Stellar® dogwood cultivars generally proved resistant to the bract and leaf spot phases of spot anthracnose as well as powdery mildew and Cercospora leaf spot. While Cherokee Brave® was the only flowering dogwood with partial resistance to powdery mildew at both sites; this and the other flowering dogwood cultivars were equally susceptible to spot anthracnose and Cercospora leaf spot. Insect damage levels were higher at the southwest site than the northeast Alabama site. Within 3 years of establishment at the southwest Alabama site, incidence of tunneling damage attributed to dogwood borer and an ambrosia beetle was higher on the Stellar® dogwood than flowering dogwood cultivars, which also had higher values for tree longevity. In contrast, tree longevity was equally high and insect damage equally low at the northeast Alabama site for both the Stellar® and flowering dogwood cultivars. Superb resistance to the diseases spot anthracnose, powdery mildew, and Cercospora leaf spot translated into superior aesthetics and fall color for the Stellar® compared with the flowering dogwood cultivars at the northeast Alabama site. Hardiness of Stellar® dogwood cultivars in Alabama and possibly other southern states below USDA Hardiness Zone 7a is questionable due to tree vulnerability to the dogwood borer and ambrosia beetle.