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Red Osier Dogwood
Cornus sericea
  
45 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea) 45 Nurseries Carry This Plant The Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea, syn. C. stolonifera, Swida sericea) is a species of dogwood native throughout northern and western North America from Alaska east to Newfoundland, south to Durango and Nuevo Len in the west, and Illinois and Virginia in the east. Other names include Redtwig Dogwood, Red-rood, American Dogwood, and (subsp. occidentalis) Western Dogwood. In the wild, it commonly grows in areas of damp soil, such as wetlands. It is a medium to tall deciduous shrub, growing 1.5-4 meter tall and 3-5 meter wide, spreading readily by underground stolons to form dense thickets. The branches and twigs are dark red, although wild plants may lack this coloration in shaded areas. The leaves are opposite, 5-12 centimeter long and 2.5-6 centimeter broad, with an ovate to oblong shape and an entire margin; they are dark green above and waxy pale below; fall color is commonly bright red to purple. The flowers are small (5-10 millimeter diameter), dull white in color, in clusters 3-6 centimeter diameter. The fruit is a globose white berry 5-9 millimeter diameter.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub, Tree

Size
Size
4 - 13.1 ft tall
9 - 15 ft wide

Form
Form
Spreading

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Dormancy
Dormancy
Winter Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
Slight

Flower Color
Flower Color
White, Purple, Red

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Summer

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 13 confirmed , 30 likely * ) SHOW ALL
Antheraea polyphemus Image
Polyphemus moth Antheraea polyphemusAntheraea polyphemus
Orthosia hibisci Image
Speckled Green Fruitworm Moth Orthosia hibisciOrthosia hibisci
Biston betularia Image
Salt-and-Pepper Geometer Biston betulariaBiston betularia
Ectropis crepuscularia Image
The Small Engrailed Ectropis crepusculariaEctropis crepuscularia
Sunira verberata Image
Battered Sallow Moth Sunira verberataSunira verberata
Acleris forbesana Image
Forbes' Acleris Moth Acleris forbesanaAcleris forbesana
Euplexia benesimilis Image
American Angle Shades Euplexia benesimilisEuplexia benesimilis

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Shade, Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Moderate - High

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / week once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 45

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 0 - 10° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Medium, Slow, Standing

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerates a variety of soils but does best in moist, rich loamy soil. Soil PH: 5 - 7

Common uses
Common uses
Bogs and Ponds, Hedges, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Maples (Acer species), Ash (Fraxinus species), Walnut (Juglans species), Western Sycamore (Platanus racemosa), Cottonwood (Populus species), Willow (Salix species), Spicebush (Calycanthus occidentalis), Wild Honeysuckle (Lonicera species), Wild Azalea (Rhododendron species), Wild Currant (Ribes species), Wild Rose (Rosa species), and Wild Grape (Vitis species)

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
1, 2, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8*, 9*, 10, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Moist places

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 7.3" - 155.6", Summer Precipitation: 0.16" - 5.84", Coldest Month: 23.3" - 56.5", Hottest Month: 46.5" - 79.3", Humidity: 0.01" - 28.16", Elevation: -12" - 10807"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Cornus sericea ssp. sericea,Cornus stolonifera
Common Names: Redosier 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


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