This is probably my most favorite tree/shrub on my place. I have five all together. The first one I planted 3 years ago at about the 6-7 foot range, it was almost 12 feet as of last year. I've read smaller plants adjust to transplanting better, but I'll tell ya this one never missed a beat. I'm growing this one as a tree with 3 main trunks, although I'm considering making it two instead. I don't feed it, just water. I only prune crossing branches (once I think) and and any new sprouts that come up from the ground in the spring, and those I just quickly rub off. Usually only two or three anyway. No bugs, no winter burn, no dropping branches. Just plant it and forget it. Under mine I have planted hosta, iberis, and ajuga, no problem with roots. I think they may go down instead of out. I transplanted a four foot one last year and was quite surprised out deep the roots were. Let us know what you decide. :)

I grow both Cornus alternifolia (pagoda dogwood) and C. kousa and have a couple of smallish Heptacodium (7 sons). I love the all season appeal of the pagoda dogwood - it has panicles of small, creamy spring flowers (a bit like Queen Anne's lace) that turn into oodles of little summer fruit that slowly move from green through red to purple and end in deep purple, almost black. The birds love them, so the tree is really hopping in August, and the bright red berry stems remain for a bit after the fruit has been stripped. Mine in full sun had a peachy tone to the leaves in fall, a mix of pink, gold, and chartreuse that I really liked, though the ones in full shade aren't much for fall color. I also found the winter branch structure ornamental. They tend to grow as a multi-trunked tree IME, so if you want a single trunk you will have to do a bit of annual pruning. For me the only drawback is that the voles seem to love the roots of all dogwoods and have killed several including the largest of my Cornus alternifolia. The Heptacodium will grow in a much more shrubby fashion, and as others have said, has really just the late season flowers and bracts to recommend it. I don't find the peeling bark ornamental and the form needs quite a bit of work to make it tree shaped. Kousa dogwoods are lovely and don't seem quite as bothered by the voles in my garden, though they still have some vole issues. They aren't nearly as hardy as the Cornus alternifolia, given that my Kousa is still working on leafing out after having all its above the snow buds killed by last winter's temperatures that reached several degrees colder than -20F. It blooms for close to 6 weeks, starting with tiny chartreuse flowers that expand into large creamy blossoms over a couple weeks and then remain on the tree for quite a while. Some years the tree has a lot of red fruit that the squirrels eat, but not every year, and they seed around a fair amount. They also hang onto their leaves quite late, which is a mixed blessing; quite ornamental with orange to deep red leaves, but a problem if we get heavy snow in October which bends the still-leafy branches past full recovery to their original shape, though it hasn't broken any branches on my trees. I wouldn't recommend Kousa for a front yard in my zone since this year it looks quite patchy, but for your slightly warmer zone, it should be fine, since we had no bud damage at -17F. So as Mainegrower said, it's largely personal taste. The trees' overall shapes are different, they both have several seasons of interest, but not in the same way, and they feed different critters. If you are largely going for flower power, you want the Kousa as it blooms for about 3x as long, but I find the pagoda truly charming. Do you have room for both, with one near the property edge and one more central, or the two near opposite sides?

That looks like a canker at the base; the ants probably came in after the fact. Heptacodium is susceptible to a canker disease (don't know if the disease agent has been positively identified) which is normally not too serious (at least here in our region, but I've heard the disease can be serious farther south). Just about every year my Heptacodium develops minor cankers on some of the smaller limbs, but it's generally insignificant and I've never considered removing the whole tree. I would cut yours at ground level any time after leaf drop and dispose of it (preferably by burning) to minimize the chance of reinfection of the new growth. I would expect it to resprout and grow vigorously next year, hopefully canker-free.

Dave, you've shamed me into cutting mine down to the ground. Your last post confirmed my decision was right. Despite it being in very good soil and full sun, it never looked good where it was at. I've decided to redo most of the area where it was planted. After 25 years it's time for an upgrade. That's always fun. There's plenty of plants waiting in the wings with better Fall color that won't spoil the picture. ;-) My dull looking Hepticodium miconioides is in the middle of the picture between the Sequoiadendron 'Glauca' and the Ginkgo. Despite the crowded look, they're 75 yds. apart with a large pond separating them. mike