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The winter can be one of the most exciting times in the garden. The long nights somehow make one appreciate every second of brightness, whilst those low shafts of sunlight have the ability to spotlight small groups of skilfully placed plants in a manner never seen during summer. Few groups of plants can better achieve this than the Cornus grown for their stems. We have concentrated on the flowering dogwoods for many years, but realised that this was one group which did not deserve to be ignored. They are so easily grown, no matter how horrible your soil or difficult your site, and combine well with so many other plants to catch any mood or theme. Imagine any of them with luminescent white barked Birch; try the black stemmed ‘Kesselringii’ against a golden evergreen like Ligustrum lucidum ‘Golden Wax’ and brightly coloured daffodils. Many have red and orange stems; I love these in combination with the bronze heads of grasses like Miscanthus. You are limited only by your imagination. Cut them down to ground level in late winter to maximise the new growth the following season; or if you don’t wish to denude your clump so completely, prune on a 3 year cycle, whereby you prune 1/3 of the shoots to the ground each year, leaving the others to give cover. As well as C. alba, consider also the cultivars of C. sanguinea and C. sericea (the latter includes those previously known under C. stolonifera). Although
I have noted "Not available this season" against most of
these, it may be relevant to note that various of them will actually be
available once dormant as root-balled plants. |
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CORNUS
alba 'Alleman's Compact' (Previously attributed to C. sericea) A more compact form but still with good red winter stem colour. Not available this season |
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CORNUS alba 'Aurea' Red stems and yellow leaves. Not available this season |
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CORNUS alba 'Bloodgood' Reputedly "the showiest red stem colour of any selection" in the Arboretum at North Carolina University in the USA. What more can I say? Not available this season |
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| CORNUS alba 'Elegantissima' A familiar form with bright red stems and leaves variegated pink, green and white. Not available this season |
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| CORNUS alba 'Gouchaultii' Also well-known, this time with green and yellow leaves contrasting with red stems. Not available this season |
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| CORNUS alba 'Kesselringii' Quite different, with black stems. Try planting with the whitest Betula utilis jacquemontii selections and early daffodils. Wow! £9.60 |
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| CORNUS alba
'Red Gnome' The bark colour of this more compact cultivar is noticeably influenced by light levels - best red colours being produced in the sunniest sites. Not available this season |
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| CORNUS alba
'Ruby' Selected from a batch of 'Sibirica' seedlings, supposedly for even better stem colour! Not available this season |
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| CORNUS
alba 'Siberian Pearls' Deep red stems are almost predictable. But this one enjoys the added benefit of a profusion of white flowers followed by white berries which turn blue with age. Not available this season |
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| CORNUS
alba 'Sibirica Variegata' I love this smaller selection. The dramatic red stems of 'Sibirica' are enhanced by the pretty variegated leaves. Similar to 'Elegantissima' but smaller, slower and with more pink through the foliage. Not available this season |
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| CORNUS alba
'Snow Pearls' Arguably the best of the batch for fruit production, which really does give an extra dimension to the autumn display. A slightly more compact grower (perhaps that's down to the energy expended in all that flower and fruit!) Not available this season |
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| CORNUS
amomum 'Blue Cloud' A similar species, but from North America (C. alba itself comes from Siberia across to Manchuria). Its particular attraction and the reason for the name, are the wonderful blue berries in late summer-autumn. The shoots are purple in winter. Not available this season |
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