Brown Dogwood, Cornus glabrata

About Brown Dogwood (Cornus glabrata) 17 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Cornus glabrata is a species in the Cornaceae (Dogwood) family native to California and Oregon and known by the common name Brown Dogwood and several other names. It is found in the Coast Ranges and the Sierra foothills, below 5,000 ft., and on some of the Channel Islands. This is a large shrub or thicket-forming bush with very limber branches that often come down to the ground and root to form new plants. It also spreads by root suckers. The bark may be brown, reddish or purple, giving it interest in winter when it is leafless. The bright green leaves turn red in fall. It bears plentiful clusters of fuzzy white flowers and bluish-white berries. This shrub is most often found near water, usually directly on the bank of a water source, but it can become less thirsty in the garden by periodic deep watering.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Shrub, Tree

Size

4.9 - 20 ft tall

Form

Weeping

Growth Rate

Fast

Dormancy

Winter Deciduous

Flower Color

White, Red

Flowering Season

Spring

Wildlife Supported

Numerous birds are attracted to the flowers and berries. Some butterflies use Dogwoods as host plant including the Echo Blue and Spring Azure, and many others use it for nectaring.
Bird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 40 likely * ) SHOW ALL

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Polyphemus moth Antheraea polyphemusAntheraea polyphemus

Speckled Green Fruitworm Moth Orthosia hibisciOrthosia hibisci

Red-Humped Caterpillar Schizura concinnaSchizura concinna

Forest Tent Caterpillar Malacosoma disstriaMalacosoma disstria

Fruit-Tree Leafroller Moth Archips argyrospilaArchips argyrospila

Salt-and-Pepper Geometer Biston betulariaBiston betularia

Landscaping Information

Sun

Part Shade

Moisture

Moderate - High

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / week once established

Nurseries

Carried by 17

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 5° F

Soil Drainage

Slow

Soil Description

Tolerates a variety of soils. Soil PH: 5.0 - 8.0

Common uses

Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens

Companion Plants

Trees - Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Santa Lucia Fir (Abies bracteata), Duoglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), and many others. Shrubs and herbs - Meadow Rue (Thalictrum fendleri), Snowdrop Bush (Styrax officinalis), Yellow Monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus), Western Azalea (Rhododendron occidentale), and Huckleberry (Vaccinum ovatum).

Maintenance

Prune to shape in late fall after leaves have dropped

Propagation?

By cuttings of the stem or rhizome

Sunset Zones?

4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8*, 9*, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Moist places such as stream banks, often in the shade of larger trees

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 9.2" - 89.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.16" - 3.68", Coldest Month: 32.4" - 55.8", Hottest Month: 53.9" - 79.2", Humidity: 0.10" - 26.95", Elevation: 0" - 7368"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Several Other Names, Smooth Dogwood

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Brown Dogwood

Cornus glabrata

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Brown DogwoodCornus glabrata

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Brown Dogwood

Cornus glabrata