Red Osier Dogwood

[bobm]

I was thinking of planting them on the W side of the house and betwwen the back fence. That area is about 10 feet wide. This area gets a S W exposure , however it is partly shady. There is a wet area on the other side of the fence . That area has many cottonwood trees, so the soil is slightly moist. Is this a small tree ? I have seen quite a few small trees ( 6'-12' ) that look to have a single trunk ,browish bark and moss covered on the bottom half and new growth being red. I see that Smart Red cuts them to the ground every 3 years, so is it a muti trunked shrub ?

 

[thistlebloom]

It's a shrub Bob. They can get tall, 10 feet or so if left to themselves, and they will form thickets if not controlled. Smart Reds method would probably suit your situation perfectly once they are established.

Your site for them sounds perfect. They should do well for you there.

 

[Smart Red]

My dogwood is a tree. My red-twigged dogwood is a shrub. Remember, Red Osiers are nearly 20 years old while yours will be babies. By the time my shrubs have three years of growth they pretty much spread over a space of 6-7 (or more) feet: side to side; and 6 feet tall. That might be too big for your 10 foot space if you intend to get around on both sides.

Mine are in full sun simply because I wanted a hedge row between what I mowed and what I left un-mowed. Since then I've been mowing the whole mess so a hedge is unnecessary. . . but still there. I suspect they will enjoy the moisture. Not sure of the shade.

 

[897tgigvib]

They do look nice planted with Arctic Willow which also grows as a shrub, if you were thinking about another shrub. Smaller and very nice for in front of them might be Gold Flame or Bubblegum Spirea.

 

[bobm]

The 2 Red Osier Dogwoods that I got are about 2' tall and as of now have a single straight trunk and no leaves or branches. The trunks are green with the top 8-10" being red. So, can it be the tree type instead of a shrub ? The answer will come to bare as to exactly where I need to plant it.

 

[897tgigvib]

Bob, just guessing, but I think single trunked is how they start if from cuttings, but SMART or THISTLE will know better than me.

Just seems there was a variety called Clark, named after Lewis and Clark's expedition that was slightly different.

 

[thistlebloom]

Bob, if it's red osier dogwood it is a shrub. There are many "dogwood" varieties from trees to shrubs to a ground cover, all in the family Cornus. Red osier is Cornus sericea.

Yours sounds like a cutting so naturally it would be a single trunk, but as it matures it will send up more trunks from the base. They grow pretty fast when the conditions are optimal, that would be a good soil that stays on the moist side, and full sun or part shade.

Sometimes red osier is mislabeled as Tatarian dogwood ( Cornus alba ) and visa versa. They are hard to tell apart when young and leafless, but generally Tatarian is a little more "domesticated" and doesn't have the vigorous clumping habit of red osier
( Cornus sericea ).