Although structurally beautiful with their striking flower bracts in early summer, it is the brightly-coloured, frost-hardy, firework stems of Cornus sanguinea that are invaluable in providing winter cheer in the garden.

Retaining Colour

The trick to ensuring a continuous show of winter colour each year lies in the pruning. The stems with the most vibrant colour are the ones that grew earlier the same year so pruning in the spring, and pruning hard, is the way to encourage plenty of colourful stems and to keep the plants to a manageable size.

Just as the buds are breaking in early spring, prune newly planted dogwoods down to around 8cms (3in). You can also prune new plants back to about 60cm (24in) and then cut back to two to three pairs of buds above that in the following years. This will lift all the colourful stems higher.

Some gardeners then cut all the stems back hard every year down to two or three pairs of buds, whilst others prune about a third each year so as not to weaken the plant. Either way, pruning these vigorous plants back hard is the key to success.

The common name for Cornus, dogwood, is thought to come from the old English word ‘dagwood’ as the hardwood of Cornus was used to make ‘dags’ – arrows.

Other sources say the origin of the name comes from the smooth, straight twigs which were used to make butchers’ skewers or ‘dags’, so the name means ‘skewer wood’.

Cornus Care

Plant bare-root Cornus shrubs or trees now. A full sun location will ensure brighter winter stems.

Plant in moisture-retentive soil and feed every year after pruning with a general fertiliser and mulch with compost.

Make More

Cornus sanguinea, Cornus stolonifera, and Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ strike well from hardwood cuttings taken in winter. Once all the leaves have fallen, cut 15cm (6in) lengths of stem, around a pencil thickness, with a clean, sharp pair of secateurs.

Make sure you know which end is the top and bottom of each cutting. Cut just above a bud at the top of the cutting at an angle and make a straight cut at the other end so you can tell the difference.

Insert the cuttings outside, directly into the soil so that half of the cutting is above the ground. Firm in and forget about them until it is time to pot them on.

Varieties to Try

Mature Cornus tree varieties can grow to up to 10m (33ft), so choose varieties wisely for your garden.

Cornus sanguinea ‘Winter Beauty’

The stems on ‘Winter Beauty’ are a pale yellow colour, tinged with fiery red on the upper part. Growing to a height of 2m (7ft), this is a great choice for the garden.

Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’

A hardy shrub which spreads to 2m (7ft) tall, it produces bright yellow and orange-red winter stems. This Cornus is ideal for a damp soil location.

Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’

‘Sibirica’ is a medium-sized Cornus which reaches a height of 3m (10ft) and throws up a thicket of crimson-red winter shoots. It can hold its own in damp soil, but must be cut hard back in March to encourage those vivid stems.

Did You Know?

The wood of the dogwood tree is one of the hardest and it is said that it was chosen to make the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified.

The pliability of the wood also makes it great for bending so it can be used to make bases for Christmas wreaths.