But it is adaptable to many soil types, and grows quite easily in our wet, clay soil. It will tolerate temporarily flooded sites.
#Red twig dogwood landscape design full#
Red twig dogwood grows in part shade to full sun in moist, well-drained soil. The owner, Ellen Folts, specializes in woodland, prairie and wetland native perennials. The genus name Cornus is Latin for “horn”, and sericea is Latin for “silky”, referring to the texture of the leaves, and I suspect the bark too.Īs I profile this wonderful native plant, I am linking in with Clay and Limestone for her Wildflower Wednesday meme, and Elephant’s Eye at False Bay for her Dozen for Diana monthly meme. And I am joining forces once again this year with a local native plant nursery, Amanda’s Garden, to buy native plants for my garden.
You will find it typically growing in wetlands along river banks, lake shores, open wet woods, swamps, marshes and ditches. This dogwood is native to Newfoundland south to Virginia and west to Alaska and California. Flat-topped, creamy-white flowers bloom in late spring, and give way to clusters of small white drupes (one-seeded berries) in summer. Red twig dogwood is a deciduous loose-spreading shrub, growing 6-12 ft.
You may know it by one of its many other names: Red osier dogwood, Red willow, Red stem dogwood, Red twig dogwood, Red-rood, American dogwood, Creek dogwood, and Western dogwood. Of course I am talking about, Cornus sericea, part of the Dogwood family (Cornaceae). Its red twigs shine in the bright spring sun. “After all, I don’t see why I am always asking for private, individual, selfish miracles when every year there are miracles like white dogwood.” ~Anne Morrow LindberghĪs spring begins, a wonderful native plant stands out in the bare garden.