A Comprehensive Guide to Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus alba)

Taxonomy

Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus alba) was originally named and described by Carl von Linnaeus in 1767. It has kept the same name since and is a member of the Dogwood Family (Cornaceae).

Varieties of Cornus alba

• var. alba: leaves are glabrous or strigose beneath (Jepson eflora)
• var. occcidentalis: leaves are densely hairy underneath (Jepson eflora)

Meaning of the Scientific and Common Names

Scientific Name

The genus name, Cornus, is from the Latin word “cornu,” which means horn (Missouri Botanical Garden). The species name, alba, is Latin for “white,” in reference to the white berries in the fall.

Common Name and Alternative Names

The common name comes from the brilliant red twigs of this plant. Other common names refer to some of the native locations of the plant and include tartarian dogwood and Siberian dogwood.

Description

• Plant Type: This plant is a deciduous shrub.
• Height: 8 to 10 feet
• Stem: This plant has a trunk that is broken into squarish blocks when mature.
• Leaves: The leaves are opposite, simple, entire, and cuneate to ovate in shape. The leaves are 3 to 6 inches long and about 3 to 6 inches wide.
• Flower color: white, pink, green, to yellow
• Blooming period: This plant blooms from March to May.
• Fruiting type and period: This plant fruits with red berries in the late summer.

Variety alba is native essentially to all of North America except for the south-central and southeastern United States. It is considered to be rare in the state of Virginia. Variety occidentalis is native to the western United States including Alaska and western provinces of Canada.

This species grows in wet meadows, marshes, creek banks, and other wetlands, as well as the edges of forests.

This species is a host for the Spring Azure Butterfly (Celastrina ladon), the Io Moth (Automeris io), and the Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora cecropia).

This species is a nectar source to other butterflies, skippers, and bees. It is also a food source for birds in the late summer and fall.

Hardiness

This species is hardy in zones 3-7. If your garden is within these zones and you have the right growing conditions (soil, moisture and exposure), you may well be able to grow this plant. However, if planted outside of its range, the hosted species may not recognize the plant or be harmed by ingesting a different species with an unfamiliar chemical composition.

Optimal Conditions

This species grows best in places that have full sun or partial shade with an emphasis on shade.

Cultivars of this Species

This species is often used in landscaping resulting in a large number of cultivars. This cultivar list comes from Gardenia and Bailey 1976):

• ‘Argenteo Marginata’: cultivar that has grayish-green leaves with white margins.
• ‘Astrosanguinea’: dwarf cultivar with crimson red stems.
• ‘Aurea’: cultivar with yellow leaves and red stems in the winter.
• ‘Bailhalo’: cultivar that is compact (5 to 8 ft) and has red stems .
• ‘Gouchaulti’: cultivar with variegated foliage and has red stems in the winter.
• “Kesselringii’: cultivar with purple bracts.
• “Rosenthalii: cultivar having yellow/golden leaf margins.
• ‘Spaethii’: cultivar with wide yellow leaf margins.
• ‘Sibirica’: cultivar with coral red stems and blue fruits.

There are many more cultivars of this species.