Chop dogwoods

Dogwoods grown for winter stem colour are great for adding colour to the garden from November through until March, and when planted in groups they look stunning. Varieties of

Cornus alba, C. stolonifera and C. sanguinea come in many colours, from yellow-green through to orange, red and blackish-purple. The best colour is produced on new growth and to maintain colour each winter you should prune now. Simply cut back hard all the stems to almost ground level. This encourages strong new shoots to grow over spring and summer that will provide lovely colourful stems next winter.