| Description | Red Twig Dogwood (Cornus sericea) A medium to tall, wide-spreading shrub grown for its red stems and bird attracting white fruit. |
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| Pronunciation | (KOR-nus)(ser-EE-see-a) |
| Plant Type | Shrubs Deciduous, Site author's observations, shrubs native |
| Hardiness Zone | 4-7 |
| Sunlight | full to partial sun |
| Moisture | average to moist to wet |
| Soil & Site | average to swampy |
| Flowers | white, (flat topped cymes) bloom in the late spring |
| Fruit | white to whitish blue drupes |
| Leaves | simple, opposite, green, ovate to elliptic, veins run almost parallel to the edge, reach about 2 by 4 inches. |
| Stems | vertical red stems are a nice winter interest, as the stems age they will start to lose their color |
| Dimensions | A rapid growing shrub reaching 8-10 feet high by a spread of over 6-8 feet. Space 6 feet on center. Probably to large for foundation plantings. |
| Maintenance | I like to cut out 1/2 to a 1/3 of the old stems and cut the remaining stems back 50%. The plant can also be sheared down flat to the ground. Both of these methods will promote new colorful red stems. |
| Propagation | softwood or hardwood cuttings |
| Misc Facts | aka Cornus stolonifera |
| Author's Notes | This is a large shrub best used in berms, borders, wet areas and as the main plant on a corner planting. It is too large of a shrub for foundation plantings. |
| Notes & Reference | #1-Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (Michael Dirr), #3-The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs, #175-Dogwoods (Paul Cappiello and Don Shadow), |
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