Cherry Blossom Serissa. The cultivar designation here refers to the small star-shaped flowers which flower from May-October. As one can see from the pictures below, the "pinkness" can vary quite a bit, depending on the sun, the temperature and nutrition or soil type. But the ambient temperature will affect the flower color more than anything. Frequently, customers contact us because their plants have white flowers instead of pink. This is always a result of high temperatures. Warm to hot temperatures suppress the pink color pigments. This happens here with our pink flowering dogwood. After a mild winter, the pink is hardly visible, but with very cold winters, the spring flowers are a much darker pink. Often when I point this out, customers will later send me back pictures of pink flowers once the weather has cooled down. This is an easily cultivated plant which has no pest problems to speak of. I have seen them growing in full sun here in Augusta, but they don't seem the happiest. I think morning sun and afternoon shade or filtered sun produces a far more contented plant. This species is used extensively in Japan as a bonsai subject because it is very adaptable to pruning. Formerly, the species designation "foetida" alludes to the "fetid" odor when its stems or leaves are crushed, but this certainly does not discourage rabbits. They have a particular affinity to this species. This plant will mature at from 3-5' and will respond favorably to a periodic pruning when it begins to get leggy. The first picture is courtesy of Marsha Yeager, gardener extraordinaire in Atlanta.
Zones 7-10
