Recently I was excited to see some new leaves on my red osier dogwood (cornus sericea).
These tiny light green leaves will darken as they enlarge to ovals of about 5 inches long. These leaves were spotted right at the beginning of April in SW Ohio. In general, the buds of cornus sericea will leaf out in the relatively early spring. Its white flowers won’t appear until summer.
This is a great native shrub that is prized for its winter interest that comes from the bright red stems that contrast beautifully with a snowy landscape.
But it’s truly a plant that shines in all seasons, from the summer flowers to the great fall color of the leaves.
The blue-white berries are also enjoyed by birds and the plant is a host for a wide variety of butterfly and moth caterpillars, including the Spring and Summer Azure butterflies and Crecopia silkmoth in some regions.
For my zip code, the National Wildlife Federation website lists an impressive 111 species of caterpillar that use cornus as a host in my area, which puts it firmly in keystone species territory.
The red twig dogwood also is versatile in that it handles a variety of sun conditions, from full sun to partial shade of just a few hours of sun per day.
In my garden, this is the only red osier dogwood I have (so far), and when I got it last year, only one stem ever leafed out. But I kept it mulched and watered throughout the year and hopefully will see a lot of new stems pop up this spring!
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