Wolf Eyes (Cornus kousa 'Wolf Eyes') - white flowers, illustrated plant cardIllustration

Wolf Eyes

Cornus kousa 'Wolf Eyes'

Wolf Eyes blooms from May through June.

Bloom calendar
Bloom time
May–Jun
not yet checked
Hardiness
Zones 5–8
not yet checked
Sun
Part shade
not yet checked
Water
Moderate water
not yet checked
Mature size
10 ft × 10 ft
not yet checked
Type
Tree
house classification

Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.

Growing Wolf Eyes

Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–8. Expect it to reach about 10 ft tall and 10 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 12 years (not yet checked).

Verification
What this means

Written with AI assistance and not yet checked plant by plant against recorded sources, so treat every fact above as a starting point. Its scientific name was checked against botanical registries, an audit keeps its values consistent with the rest of the library, and a July 2026 review re-read the main facts of every plant then in the library against horticultural authorities without recording a source for each, which is why none of that counts as checked here. The source-by-source check is working through the whole library in the open, and a checked plant says so in this row.

When to plant Wolf Eyes

Plant Wolf Eyes in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from May to June.

Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.

How big does Wolf Eyes get?

Illustration of Wolf Eyes drawn to scale beside an adult10 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult10 ftwide
About 10 ft tall and 10 ft wide at maturity: about twice as tall as an adult.

See Wolf Eyes in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.

How far apart to plant Wolf Eyes

Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.

Give Wolf Eyes about 10 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.

Clear ground around it
10 ft in every direction

Add Wolf Eyes to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.

Good to know about Wolf Eyes

Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.

Safety

The bitter red fruit is not for eating; USDA calls it poisonous to humans, though ASPCA does not list it as toxic to dogs or cats. per USDA and ASPCA

The Dogwood group

One of 12 in the Dogwood group. Same genus, similar care.

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Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.

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