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Cornaceae
CORNUS sericea 'Variegata'
Redosier Dogwood, Variegated Dogwood
This selection of a dogwood native to eastern North America, ‘Variegata’ has the vivid red stems of its parent and adds dark-green leaves that are edged by broad white margins. An upright, deciduous shrub, it produces many stems from its base at ground level, making a thicket shaped as a leafy mound. It spreads by stems that root where they touch the ground and by stems that arise from the roots. One plant some becomes a colony. Some gardeners restrain and shape this dogwood by digging up the rooting stems and suckers. Other gardeners welcome the rooting stems and suckers and cut all of them, old and new, to the ground in winter to produce more young stems and more bright yellow color the following winter (this undoes bloom in spring, but at little cost because the flowers are small and nondescript—however, it deprives birds of the fruits.). The parent species is called red osier dogwood because new stems grow long and unbranched, like those of the osier willows that are used in basket making.
Plant ‘Variegata’ in almost any rich, moist to wet, well-drained soil and full sun to part shade. Use it for a specimen in a mixed bed or border, or grouped as a drift at the back of a bed or border.
8 - 1
3 - 8
A1, A2, A3, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
Shrub
Full Sun, Partial Sun, Partial Shade
5'-8' / 1.5m - 2.4m
6'-8' / 1.8m - 2.4m
Late Spring, Early Summer
North America, Northeastern United States
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Average
Clay, Loam, Sand
Wet Site, Pollution
Fast
Thicket/Colonizing
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Showy
White
White, Dark Green
Variegated
Red, Burgundy
Red, Dark Red, Sandy Brown
Yes
No
Single
Medium
Matte
Smooth
Feature Plant, Foundation, Hedges, Mixed Border, Screening / Wind Break
Sometimes
Birds
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