Cornus kousa ‘Milky Way’

‘Milky Way’ earns its name from the sheer abundance of flowers: creamy-white bracts cover the branches in June like stars, as it says on the tin. Selected in Ohio in the 1960s for its reliable heavy flowering, it’s remained one of the most popular kousa cultivars.

It makes a broad, bushy small tree, eventually around 6m tall and wide. Oval pointed dark green leaves turn orange-red to scarlet in autumn, while red strawberry-like fruits ripen and persist past leaf fall.

Plant in humus-rich, medium moisture, acidic to neutral well-drained soil, in full sun to part shade. Good disease resistance, especially compared to the American flowering dogwoods.

A four-season tree for a lawn or mixed border where it has room to spread.