trying to compare kousa with chinensis? both seedlings

Galien, MI

I'm going to grow one of these from seed, but can't decide between the kousa dogwood, and the cornus kousa var. chinensis. I don't think the seeds I can get are milky way variety seeds - just those two species ones. I like the smaller tree and slightly overlapping of the regular kousa, but I was told the chinensis will bloom much sooner from a seedling, possibly several years earlier. Can any one give me any personal experience, pro's/con's comparing them?
Thanks.

Danville, IN

According to Michael Dirr, the chinensis and kousa species are not very different botanically, but under cultivation, chinensis grows more freely (up to 30'), and the flowers are larger. Also, 'Milky Way' trees are actually developed from at least fifteen different seedlings resulting from seed collected from many open-pollinated plants, which make any present day "seedlings of 'Milky Way'" highly variable. So, I'd try any and all seeds you can get and see what happens a few years down the road.

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