Illustration
Cherokee Brave
Cornus florida 'Cherokee Brave'
Cherokee Brave blooms from April through May.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Cherokee Brave
Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–9. Expect it to reach about 20 ft tall and 20 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 12 years (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Cherokee Brave
Plant Cherokee Brave 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 7, the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 9, spring means March to May and fall means September or October. Once settled, it blooms from April to May.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 7, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 7 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Cherokee Brave get?
20 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult20 ftwideSee Cherokee Brave 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 Cherokee Brave
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give Cherokee Brave about 20 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.
Add Cherokee Brave to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Cherokee Brave's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 7 published sources on October 21, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- newblooms.comNew Blooms Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Plant Addictsheight, spread, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- jfschmidt.comJ. Frank Schmidt & Son Co.height, spread, hardiness zones and bloom months and color
- treesdelivered.comWilscape Nursery & Garden Center (Trees Delivered)height, spread and hardiness zones
- University of Illinois Extensionsun and bloom months and color
- NC State Extensionsun and trait tags
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
A garden form of Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
Its wild parent is native to 32 states and 1 province.
Its parent's own page: Flowering Dogwood.
United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and 20 more
Canada: Ontario
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
Good to know about Cherokee Brave
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. per USDA
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.