Dear Peter, About 6 years ago, I planted 18 Cornus kousa (Chinese dogwood) shrubs in a sunny spot. They have grown well (4 to 8 + feet), have lots of leaves, are bushy, look healthy…..but have never bloomed. Is this species really slow to bloom, or is there perhaps something I could add to the soil? Thanks for considering my question!
It may be that they aren’t well established enough to flower yet. You can try feeding them with a high phosphorus food like Espoma Flower Tone by pounding holes in the soil out away from the trunks as far as the outermost branch tips in several places (see the package for how much to use). However, there are several other factors to consider HERE’s a link to a good article that covers all the bases.