Botanical Name: Cornus stolonifera
Common Name: Dogwood, Red-Osier Dogwood
Type of Plant: dicot: shrub
Character deciduous
 
Habit of Growth:
Overall Shape upright to widely spreading, with many slender bright red-purple stems forming large, loosely rounded canopy; becomes almost thicket-like with age; tips of branches tend to root when in contact with soil.
Height 5' - 15'
Spread equal or more
Growth Rate rapid
 
Environment:
Exposure outdoors partial sun preferred; tolerates full sun near the coast
Soil prefers moist soils; tolerates wet poorly-drained clay
Hardiness hardy (zones 1-9, 14-21): prefers foothill riparian sites
 
Morphology:
Leaves pinnate, mostly opposite, lanceolate-elliptic or ovate; 2" - 4" long, bright green, minutely hairy on underside; leaves turn bright red-bronze in colder areas in fall
Flowers creamy white, 4-petaled, tiny (1/8" - 1/4" across), in flattened 2" - 3" cymes; terminal; June - September
Fruit drupe: tiny, white or bluish
 
Propagation:
seed, hardwood cuttings
 
Usage:
a fast-growing background mass or screen planting, useful for wet soils in somewhat shaded areas; valued for its heavy flower production and foliage color in fall; good for erosion control
 
Landscape Care:
Watering regular is preferred; tolerates heavy; the plant is not drought-tolerant except in shaded habitats
Fertilizing little is needed after established
Pruning head back and thin to keep in bounds (can be invasive); prune after blooming period
Pests/Diseases relatively free
Special Conditions/Other
 
Origin: California/Washington
Family: Cornaceae

Notes:
 
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