Cornus General Information
Cornus are best known for providing striking winter beauty to the garden. The bare red stems provide colorful interest and are excellent for holiday arrangements. In spring, Cornus sports small but charming white flowers and has attractive foliage all growing season long. Good shrub for colder zones (3 & 4).
Idaho has restricted all potted plant material from being shipped into Idaho
at this time.
Cornus Plant Care
Pruning has options: Can be pruned back hard every year or two in spring to within a couple inches of the ground to force numerous new and hence reddest winter stems. Alternately, a less drastic approach is to prune out up to a third of the older stems in spring, removing stems the size of your thumb and larger. If flowers and berries are desired; this is the preferred method, as Redtwigs bloom on the previous season's wood and the first method of hard annual pruning will not allow flowering. Average to moist soil is preferred. Stems color best when young (hence the pruning) and in sun. Do not prune until established - usually the third year.