Kousa dogwoods certainly do well in full sun. As for any of the pears--check out many, many old threads here for the full blast of why not to plant them.

Kousa.
But you might also consider Yellowwood(Cladrastic kentuckea) or Fringetree(Chionanthus virginicus) for small-medium spring-flowering trees.
American smoketree is another good choice to consider - flowers not quite as showy as it's Asian cousins, but fall color is fabulous.

Good to know Kousa's will do good in full sun, yea !!! I bought 2 nice burlap bag trees & going to plant. I know to take all wire & burlap off, but any medium planting tips ? All I have & ever use is soil we have had trucked in. Use for all flowerbeds & such. This good ? Seems the root ball is in clay maybe ? When I have watered through the burlap real light brown water runs out on the patio.

Thanks much again !!!!

Will the Kousa's do good in the South Winter winds ? We are surrounded by woods so, this has to help some. Didn't know if they were a real tender tree ?

So, did we make a good choice picking the Kousa over the pear ? What's the big difference between the Kousa vs. the native dogwoods ???

~Thanks~

The main reason kousas are recommended over cornus florida is because they are less prone to disease. Dogwoods are a bit problematic. It always seems to be something with them. I don't think kousas look "great" in full sun.

As for why pears are a bad idea, here are some reasons why.

1.) They are environmentally unfriendly as they are an invasive species that are taking over native forest including dogwoods (especially dogwoods!) and choking them out with thickets.

2.) They are weak wooded and have narrow crotch angles and break apart in storms. But they will get very big first creating an expensive tree surgeon service call.

2.5) They are short lived.

3.) The blooms smell bad.

4.) The blooms are short.

5.) The leaves drop very late in the season requiring second cleanup.

6.) Surface roots. Big ones. And they are numerous.

7.) Dense shade = no turf, moss, possibly unwanted perennial moisture, shrooms etc.

8.) The people that still grow these don't deserve one red cent.

9.) Partridges

10.) McFlora... yawn.

Serviceberrys , crab apples, red maple and cherries are commonly suggested for full sun sites where flowering trees are desired as substitutes for callery pears. None of those are perfect either the small flowering trees in general are not the longest lived in the bunch but anything is better than a 40 foot tree that was planted 5 years prior that literally explodes in a seemingly innocent storm and lands on property or persons requiring thousands in cleanup or insurance deductibles, wrongful death lawsuits etc.

Only the ornery disgraceful partridges then.

Ok, glad we didn't do a pear ! The Kousa are going to be in the sun till the other trees start taking off it's then the Kousa will be smaller than the Maples & Oaks.

Are Crabapples bad ? They do remind me of a pear somewhat, seem invasive. We mainly have Redbuds & Dogwoogs for flowering trees. Saved these on site when we built. Lost a few Redbuds, but way more Dogwoods !

~Thanks~

You could still have a pear - just go for an orchard pear. They're good in every way that Bradford Pears are bad - long-lived, won't fall to bits in a light breeze, nice flowers, delightful fruit, not invasive, . . .

Resin

Crab apples are good, they sometimes can sucker from the rootstock but many varieties have great fruit displays. I like 'harvest gold'. Orchard (edible) pears are nice too.

How about hawthorns eg winterking, washington & so on?