Winter is Great for Redtwig Dogwood
The first snow of the year can be a thing of beauty. By the 15th snowfall however, we start to get real sick of white everywhere. Enter the Redtwig Dogwood! As the name implies this shrub boasts some very colorful stems that look great against the snow and add a pop of color to an otherwise stark winter landscape.
‘Arctic Sun’ Dogwood looks great in the snow.
Arctic Sun™ dogwood is a dwarf suckering shrub, a compact version of the popular ‘Winter Flame’ redtwig dogwood. The Dutch plant breeder of ‘Winter Flame’, Andre van Nijnatten, introduced this fantastic dogwood with smaller-stature that is perfect for small space gardening and residential landscapes. The beautiful stems are yellow with red tips that appear as a coral shade when massed together and best stem color occurs on new, youngest twigs. Bring some of the outdoors in this over the winter season by using these uniquely colored stems as cut accents in holiday arrangements!
‘Arctic Sun’ Dogwood
Dogwoods are wonderful native, deer resistant, multi-seasonal shrubs with creamy white flat-topped flower clusters in late spring, that give way to whitish/blue drupes in late summer and golden yellow to peachy orange fall color. The flowers umbel shape offers an excellent landing pad for many butterflies, while the fruits are quite attractive to a wide variety of birds. In fact, American Robin, Cedar Waxwings, Purple Finch, Red-Eyed Vireo, Scarlet Tanager and Wood Thrush all use dogwoods as a source of food, cover and nesting.
Soap! Dye! Baskets! – Oh my! Did you know that dogwood seed contains 45% of a non-drying oil that is used in soap making? A blue-green dye can also be obtained from the fruit, and the flexible young stems can be used in basketry.
Common Name: Arctic Sun™ Bloodtwig Dogwood
Scientific Name: Cornus sanquinea ‘Cato’ P.P. #19,892
Zone: 4-9
Height: 3-4’ Spread: 3-4’
Bloom Time: May to June
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Part Shade
You must be logged in to post a comment.