Cornus alba

Tartarian dogwood is a shrub in the Cornaceae family.  It can be pruned to grow as a small tree. It has an upright and loose form that arches with long unbranched stems as it ages.  It tends to sucker to form large colonies, so root pruning may be necessary.  Plant in full sun to partial shade in moist, well-drained soil but it does tolerate a range of soil conditions. The best blood-red color on new stems so remove the oldest stems to encourage growth each winter before leaf-out.

Naturalistic plantings in moist soils where plants are allowed to spread and form thickets. Property line screens. Hedges. Shrub borders. Site shrubs as accents in areas where key ornamental feature, the stem color, can be appreciated.

Seasons of Interest:

       Foliage: Fall    Bloom: Spring     Twigs: Winter

Insects, Diseases and Other Problems: Leaf miner and scale are less serious potential insect pests. When stressed, is susceptible to a large number of disease problems, most serious is dogwood anthracnose. Other diseases include powdery mildew, leaf spot, canker, root rot, and leaf & twig blight. It can also become vulnerable to borers. It is weedy and its suckering can make it difficult to remove so consider a planting site carefully.