Plant Details

Great Plant Picks - This cultivar of Cornus alba is grown for its unique shiny deep purple-black stems. The new spring foliage emerges flushed in inky purple and retains a hint of that dark coloring through the growing season. In autumn its leaves turn gold, apricot and rose-red. This shrub gives a great deal for the little it asks in the way of care and attention. It tolerates damp or dry soils, as well as that difficult combination of winter-wet-summer-dry locations. Black-twig dogwood grows best in moist well-drained soil but it is extremely adaptable, growing in a wide range of soil types including clay, sand, or wet locations. It is vigorous in full sun or light to dappled shade, but a sunnier location will provide brighter stems in winter. To encourage bright red stems cut back a third of the oldest stems to about 6 inches tall every year, leaving the strong upright young whips.