Red Osier Dogwood
Cornus sericea L.
Also called: Red Twig Dogwood, American Dogwood
Red Osier Dogwood. Cornus sericea, the red osier or red twig dogwood, is a spreading deciduous shrub native to wet thickets, stream banks, and marsh edges across northern North America. Grown chiefly for its brilliant red winter stems that glow against snow, it also bears flat clusters of white spring flowers and white berries that feed birds. A four-season shrub especially valued for winter color in cold climates.
Growing & care
- Sun: full sun produces the brightest stem color; tolerates part shade with duller stems.
- Water: prefers consistently moist to wet soil; excellent for rain gardens, pond edges, and boggy spots. Tolerates average soil with watering.
- Soil: adaptable; thrives in rich, wet ground.
- Hardiness: USDA zones 3–7 — very cold-hardy.
- Mature size: 6–9 feet tall and wide; spreads by underground stems and stem-tip layering to form thickets.
- Pruning: the brightest color is on young stems — cut a third of the oldest stems to the ground each late winter, or coppice the whole shrub hard every few years to renew color.
Propagation
Extremely easy from hardwood cuttings — stick dormant cut stems directly into moist soil in late fall or winter and they root readily. The shrub also spreads naturally by layering wherever stem tips or low branches touch wet ground, and by underground runners. Division of suckers works too.
Common problems
The most common disappointment is dull stem color, caused by too much shade or failing to prune out old wood — the vivid red is only on young growth. Leaf spot, canker, and scale appear in stressed or crowded plantings. Its suckering, thicket-forming habit can spread beyond bounds in moist ground — site where that is welcome or contain it. Non-toxic to dogs and cats per ASPCA listings, and a top native shrub for wet sites, winter interest, bank stabilization, and bird habitat.
Red Osier Dogwood — seeds, tools & books
Native range
Native range not recorded for this plant. Often a non-native cultivar or naturalized garden plant.
