Red osier dogwood can brighten winter garden
If you are longing for some color in your winter garden, consider planting a red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea). Its bare, vibrant-red stems look beautiful against a curtain of evergreens or a snowy landscape. This shrub is attractive in all seasons, adaptable, fast-growing, low maintenance and attracts many birds and pollinators.
Red osier is a native dogwood that grows throughout North America except the southern-most latitudes. It typically grows in moist, wet areas such as stream banks, ditches, boggy areas and along lake shores, ponds or fens. The multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub can grow to 6 to 9 feet. Its lower stems and branches often root where they touch the ground and form dense thickets.
The young stems are a greenish-red during the growing season and turn to a bright red during winter. The stems fade into a green-gray color with age. The ovate leaves turn from green to a beautiful purplish-red color in fall.
From late May to June, the stem tips bear 2- to 3-inchwide flat-top clusters of small, white, fragrant flowers. Once pollinated, the flower develops into a bluishwhite berry-like drupe that contains a single pit.
It was named red osier by early settlers, as they recognized that its bare red stems not only looked similar to the shrubby European osier willow, but also like the willow, had analgesic properties and could be used for weaving.
The origin of the name dogwood is unclear.
According to some sources, the word is derived from the Scandinavian word 'dag' for skewers that were made from a European dogwood species, while other sources attribute it to the fact that it was used for treating mangy dogs. Uses
If you are seeking a plant that will do well in the wet areas of your garden or a rain garden, then the red osier dogwood might be a good choice. It spreads quickly by suckering and forms dense clumps and can makean attractive hedge or windbreak. It is a good native alternative to the invasive burning bush, Euonymus alatus. Its habit of suckering also makes it a suitable choice for slope stabilization and erosion control.
Because it is a fast-growing plant, it can be cut back for use as animal fodder or basket weaving.
The nectar and pollen of the flowers attract a large number of bees, wasps, moths, flies and butterflies. Beetles, aphids and caterpillars of moths feed on various parts of the plant, including its leaves. Many birds and small mammals enjoy the white drupes that, although bitter tasting, are high in fat content. Deer, beavers and hare browse on the twigs and leaves. The dense thickets also provide cover to birds and small mammals.
Native Americans used the astringent and analgesic bark from the stems and root to treat fevers, digestive problems and skin conditions including poison ivy rash. The powdered bark or twig was used for brushing teeth. The Native Americans identified the narcotic properties of the green inner bark and blended it with tobacco and other plants to make kinnikinnick, an herbal smoking mixture.
The pliable stems were used for basket weaving, making dream catchers, bows and arrows, fish hooks, skewers and drying trays among other things. Fiber was obtained from the bark and made into rope. The bark was also mixed with other plants, wood ash and minerals to obtain dyes of different colors.
Growing requirements
Hardiness Zones: 3 to 7
Sun: full sun to partial shade
Water: average to wet
Soil: adaptable to all soil conditions; grows in clay soils
Maintenance: Remove dead and old canes to promote new growth of the brightred stems.
Propagation: best done by live staking side branches that flop to the ground or by cuttings
Pest and diseases: herbivory from deer, rabbit and mice; stem canker, leaf spots, scales, bagworms
Cultivars: Based on size, stem color and branching habit, many cultivars of Cornus sericea have been developed.
Dwarf to compact cultivars — ‘Kelseyi’, ‘Bergeson's Compact’ and Arctic Fire
Red-stemmed cultivars — ‘Cardinal’ and ‘Pucker Up!’
Yellow-stemmed cultivars — ‘Budd's Yellow’ and ‘Flaviramea’
Once a month, the OSU Extension Master Gardener’s Office of Franklin County profiles a plant that occurs naturally in central Ohio.