Hello! First off, no question here is stupid. Promise. Secondly, since Colo. Springs is zone 4b-5b, it matters where you live within the city. I think you have a better chance of making a flowering dogwood survive if you're within the city, but less chance in the surrounding areas. A flowering dogwood is hardy to zone 5. I miss them greatly, too, as I'm also from the Kansas City area...

I haven't seen a flowering dogwood since I moved to Colorado 9 years ago. Is it just a matter of cold hardiness? I thought maybe they needed acidic soil like the azaleas that are always grown with them in the South.

Bonnie

Bonnie,
You're right, it's not just cold hardiness. However, soil can be amended with pecan shells, aluminum sulfate. It's a smaller tree so keeping the soil acidic in it's growth habit isn't too hard. The problem is...making the soil that is truly alkaline into acidic takes more than a year to keep it consistant. I think the dogwood is worth the extra effort!

This is quite a dated post, but I too have the same issue. I have a longing for the dogwoods from Georgia but live in denver, near city park. Because I can't commit to transforming the soil, I am curious if any members have other recommendations for trees that that have a similar "delicate" habit as a dogwood. My only thought at this point is a eastern redbud. Thanks for any ideas!