They brighten up the winter with their bright or flamboyant stems. The dogwoods with remarkable bark are very graphic subjects, especially on a white snowy coat.
Very easy to grow and hardy, they will be your charming asset in the garden during the bad season.
Decorative bark dogwoods
Decorative bark dogwoods are very valuable in the garden in winter because they unfurl their red or orange stems throughout the bad season, brightening up the decor and contrasting with the surrounding greyness. They can be used as decorative hedges, borders, beds, or even as an isolated subject.
The white dogwood (Cornus alba) is a shrub native to Siberia, China and Korea that can reach up to 3 m in height and spread. Its upright habit is very graphic especially when the young shoots without leaves turn red/orange in winter. The variety 'Sibirica' is particularly interesting for its foliage that turns purple in autumn and for its bright red stems.
Kesselringii' has almost black, slightly purple shoots.
Those who like variegated foliage will be interested in the varieties 'Elegantissima' with grey/green leaves edged with white or 'Gouchaultii' with leaves edged with yellow and shaded with pink. On these cultivars, the bark remains very ornamental with a beautiful red color.
The female dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) is a shrub native to Europe with an upright and bushy habit. It does not exceed 3m in height for 2,5m of spread. The typical species has green stems turning red in autumn if the plant is exposed to the sun, otherwise the stems remain green. The variety 'Winter Flame' is very ornamental with its orange-yellow stems, very bright in the garden in winter. This deciduous shrub is particularly beautiful in autumn when its leaves turn a blazing red.
The dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) is a shrub with a wide spread (4m) thanks to its suckering runners. Its dark red shoots are sumptuous in winter. The variety 'Flaviramea' offers the spectacle of its bright green to yellowish stems for a very bright effect in the garden.
Maintenance of decorative bark dogwoods
Decorative bark dogwoods become much brighter in full sun. Always plant them with good exposure. Not very difficult, these dogwoods accept most soils.
The young shoots being much more colorful than the old ones, the species cultivated for the color of their bark should be pruned each year in spring just before bud break. With sharp pruning shears, cut each stem flush with the ground above the second bud from the base. This will ensure that the young shoots are brightly colored in winter.
