Plant Image Data Base
Cornus alba
Red Twig Dogwood
- Form
- medium-sized deciduous shrub
- on average, maturing at 8' tall by 8' wide, but
the many forms available include dwarf as well as
larger forms
- upright oval to upright rounded growth habit in
youth, becoming either arching and spreading or
open and straggly with age
- rapid growth rate
- Culture
- full sun to partial shade
- adaptable to many conditions, including wet
soils, but prefers moist, well-drained soils
- performs best when regularly thinned (or pruned
to just above ground level every second to third
year) to promote compactness, upright growth
habit, canopy air circulation, larger and more
intensely variegated leaves (where applicable)
and stout new colorful stems
- Foliage
- medium to dark green, with variegated forms
available
- fall color green, chartreuse, or greenish-purple
and not showy
- Twigs
- colorful stems exhibit their best Autumn and
Winter color when juvenile
- stems are often numerous, radiating from the base
of the shrub
- Function
- mass or group plantings, borders, foundations,
embankments, erosion control, non-thorny informal
hedges, and at the edge of bodies of water;
ornamental Winter stem interest may also occur in
these situations for those cultivars whose stems
are showy
- Assets
- ornamental Winter stem interest (either red or
yellow, subtle or prominent)
- some cultivars have variegated foliage
- rapidly-growing shrub
- wet site tolerant
- Purpose
- Tatarian Dogwood is a rapidly growing shrub for
winter stem interest, and, in some cultivars, for
showy variegated summer foliage.
- Summary
- Cornus alba and the closely related Cornus
sericea are deciduous shrubs which often
exhibit Winter appeal due to their dormant stem
color; they are fast growing and adaptable to wet
sites, with some cultivars also known for their
showy leaf variegation or dwarf size.
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