Kousa dogwood Scarlet Fire

* Common name: Kousa dogwood Scarlet Fire

* Botanical name: Cornus kousa ‘Rutpink’

* What it is: Breeders have long been trying to develop a kousa-type dogwood tree (more sun- and clay-tolerant than American dogwoods) with dark-pink flowers. Rutgers breeder Dr. Thomas Molnar hit pay dirt with Scarlet Pink, which produces fuchsia-pink bracts for about six weeks from late spring into early summer.

It also gets burgundy fruits and red foliage in fall, and the bark becomes a mottled gray and brown with age.

* Size: Slow-growing to about 8 feet tall and nearly as wide in 10 years, ultimately reaching 16 to 18 feet tall and wide.

* Where to use: Very nice as a specimen in any high-profile spot, such as the front yard, as the centerpiece of a large island bed, or at a house corner. Grows best in full sun to part shade.

* Care: Rich, organic, well drained soil is ideal, although kousa dogwoods tolerate clay and “builder’s soil” better than most American dogwoods.

Keep young trees well watered (consistently damp but never soggy), then water needed only during hot, dry spells. Fertilize each spring with a balanced, granular, organic fertilizer.

Prune out competing trunks and crossing branches to train when young, then remove lower limbs as the tree grows.

* Great partner: Leadwort is a good groundcover in a low-care setting. Salvia, dianthus, and catmint are good color-coordinated perennials that bloom at the same time. Silvery-blue creeping junipers, such as ‘Blue Pacific’ and ‘Silver Mist,’ make good evergreen underplantings.