Cornus elliptica ‘Empress of China’

An evergreen flowering dogwood from China; visually much like an evergreen C. kousa with the foliage deep glossy-green above and pale grey under. A mass of four-bracted inflorescences start out a beautiful lime-green in early summer before turning white and are followed by globose red fruit in autumn. A hardy small tree in the UK, best with a little shelter from freezing NE winds. For sun or semi-shade and best suited to neutral/acid soils, though good specimens can be found on better soils over limestone. 'Empress of China' was selected for its heavy flowering qualities.