Dog days of summer are no time for a dogwood to bloom. It should be slowing down and getting ready for autumn. Plump floral buds start to develop, but then wait dormant as foliage turns color and falls away. Only after winter dormancy, just prior to the emergence of new foliage, floral buds bloom spectacularly. September is either half a year too early or half a year too late.
So, what is this dog and pony show?! ‘Eddie’s White Wonder’ dogwood is blooming not only in our landscape, but in other regions too. It is not just because our six new trees were distressed from installation earlier this year. That process would not have affected other trees. It was not because of our locally variable weather. It affected too many trees in too many other regions.
I certainly do not mean to dog our trees for their eagerness to bloom; but it is best to let sleeping dogs lie. They need their rest. Floral buds that bloom or try to bloom now will not be there to bloom when they should next spring. Only a few floppy blooms are seen on our trees, but closer inspection reveals that every bud is open, exposing the tiny individual flower buds within.
It does not need to rain cats and dogs for the floral buds to be ruined. Now that weather is cooling instead of warming as it would in spring, the floral buds that are now opening will not waste resources to finish blooming. The priority is slowing down for winter dormancy. Whether finished with bloom or not, opened floral buds will be shed along with foliage as autumn progresses.
Rhody might seem like he should obviously be an expert in regard to dogwoods, but he merely commented that “Bark is ruff!”
Tony Tomeo 
Did you win a ribbon for your jelly/jam?
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No, but it went well. Actually, it was quite rad. https://tonytomeo.com/2019/09/29/again-no-blue-ribbon/
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I tried to have a dogwood here. It lasted for while, but eventually didn’t like the climate and died.
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The more traditional dogwoods do not like the arid chaparral climate of the Santa Clara Valley, just a few miles away. ‘Eddie’s White Wonder’ is more tolerant of the aridity and minimal winter chill, and grows as a bigger tree. It is so much better suited to local climates. What is the problem for dogwoods in your climate?
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I am guessing it is too wet. They grow better further north. My landscaper said it probably would not do well, but it lasted about 10 years.
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Well, they do not tolerate soil saturation well. That can even be a problem in our chaparral climate if they get watered too frequently. (Soil saturation is more of a problem than it should be here because so many landscapes are ‘maintained’ by so-called ‘gardeners’ who don’t know or care about horticulture.)
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As per usual, useful knowledge presented with great humour. Thank you.
We have dogwoods growing wild here but none have dared bloom other than in the spring.
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You are welcome.
Native species within their respective natural environments are not so easily confused.
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It’s sad!
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They will recover. This premature bloom is annoying to me, but harmless to them.
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You forgot to mention that the dogwood is man’s best friend.
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There is no need to state the obvious.
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