An endemic population once spanned from southernmost coastal Maine south to northern Florida and west to the Mississippi River.

[4] The tree is commonly planted as an ornamental in residential and public areas because of its showy bracts and interesting bark structure.

[10] In regions where dogwood anthracnose is a problem, homeowners and public land managers are encouraged to know the symptoms and inspect trees frequently.

[12] Flowering dogwood does best horticulturally in moist, acidic soil in a site with some afternoon shade, but good morning sun.

[13] In urban and suburban settings, care should be taken not to inflict mower damage on the trunk or roots, as this increases the tree's susceptibility to disease and pest pressure.

[14][15][16] Sites should be selected for reasonably well-drained, fertile soils; full sun is recommended in high-hazard areas (such as stream or pond banks).

Cornus florida is easily propagated by seeds, which are sown in the fall into prepared rows of sawdust or sand, and emerge in the spring.

This is important for breeding programs as it means that it is not necessary to emasculate (remove the anthers from) C. florida flowers before making controlled cross-pollinations.

[21] Softwood cuttings taken in late spring or early summer from new growth can be rooted under mist if treated with 8,000 to 10,000 ppm indole-3-butyric acid (IBA).

Rather, selected cultivars are generally propagated by T-budding in late summer or by whip grafting in the greenhouse in winter onto seedling rootstock.

Nodal (axillary bud) sections are established in a culture of Woody Plant Medium (WPM) amended with 4.4 μmol/L 6-Benzyladenine (BA) to promote shoot growth.

The hard, dense wood has been used for products such as golf club heads, mallets, wooden rake teeth, tool handles, jeweler's boxes and butcher's blocks.