Dogwood, Red-osier or Red-stemmed
Cornus sericea
Cornaceae - Dogwood

Description

Leaves: Green to dark green on top, red to purple in the fall, pale yellow-green beneath; opposite; simple; egg-shaped to lance-shaped, tapering to a point; 2-5" in length and 1" to 2-1/2" in width, approximately 5 vein pairs.

Twigs/buds: Twigs bright to dark red, covered with flattened, fine, soft hairs; slender, with lenticels. Buds dark reddish brown, covered in fine soft hairs.

Flowers/fruit: Flowers perfect; off-white, occur in May-early June in flat-topped cymes, 1-1/2" to 2-1/2" in diameter, flowering occasionally through the summer. Fruit is a white drupe; 1/3" in diameter; oval to round; occurring in late summer.

Bark: Showy, purple-red (late summer) to red (winter) to green (spring), sometimes brown; has many lenticels, develops cracks and splits later on.

Wood: Unimportant.

General: Utah's only native dogwood; native to Utah's mountains in moist areas near streams. A medium to large shrub, typically 7' to 10' tall. Canopy open and multi-stemmed. Susceptible to twig blight, leaf spot and scale. Prefers full sun to partial shade.

Landscape Use: Use as a screen, border, or for soil stabilization. Great for mass plantings in large areas such as parks or along highways. Makes an excellent landscape plant with its bright red stems in winter. Needs periodic pruning to retain stem coloration. Zones 2-7.

Cultivars: 'Alleman's Compact', 'Bailey', 'Bloodgood', 'Bud's Yellow', 'Cardinal' ,'Elegantissima', 'Flaviramea', 'Gouchaultii', 'Isanti', 'Ivory Halo', 'Kelseyi', 'Siberian Pearls', 'Sibirica', 'Silver and Gold', 'Spaethii'.

Characteristics

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