Common Name : Red-twigged Dogwood

Latin Name : Cornus alba

Description : A hardy native plant, the dogwood should be a staple in the northern yard. If properly maintained, dogwood shrubs can last for decades. Although they are merely green and leafy in the summer, the red-twigged dogwoods make a show in the winter, especially towards spring when their branches seem to become a brighter red, and can positively glow when made glossy by an early spring rain. In addition, some dogwoods can display good fall color, ranging from deep burgundy, to red, to even some oranges.

Do not confuse our dogwood with dogwood further south. They are from different families. Our dogwood do not have the spectacular bloom. The dogwood from the south do not survive our winters, nor do they have the red branching of our northern varieties.

Dogwood are perfect for the corners of houses. They make excellent informal hedges.

We strongly recommend a variety introduced by Melvin Bergeson, a variety which he named the Gary dogwood because he found it in a swamp near Gary, MN, but which has come to be known as the Bergeson Dogwood.

Bergeson Dogwood has a superior fall color and a more dense, compact habit than other red-twig dogwood.