RejuvenatingRedTwigDogwoods: How To Prune Dogwoods.Redtwigdogwood is one of the more ornamental shrubs in the garden in winter. That’s not because of any winter-blooming flowers that decorate the bare winter branches. Kelsey’s RedTwigDogwood is a low-growing deciduous shrub notable for its bright red winter twigs. This selection of a native bush grows only a little over 2 feet tall and wide, with dense, twiggy growth and glossy summer leaves. Keeping RedTwigDogwood Small Redtwigdogwood (Cornus sericea) is a wonderful shrub. It grows fast and provides interest in the garden all year. The sharp-tipped leaves are deep green in summer but turn purple red in autumn. RedTwigDogwoods display their most vibrant stem color when they receive ample sunlight. Positioning the shrub in a location that receives full sun for at least six hours daily is recommended to maximize the production of color pigments. And after four years of “investing” in a redtwig dogwood (‘Arctic Fire’ to be exact), I am proud to announce that I have successfully kept one alive and thriving, browsing deer be damned. More details on ‘Arctic Fire’ (Cornus stolonifera): *Typical size is 4′ x 4′. A native of North America, redtwigdogwood is an easy-to-grow shrub that thrives in a sunny spot with moist soil. It can reach eight feet in height and width, making it a statement piece, especially in a smaller garden. I gathered the few RedTwigs I have (remember, it’s a new garden, and I keep sawing on them each winter) to make these foraged arrangements. Photos courtesy of East Coast Garden Center, Millsboro, DE. Red Flowering Dogwood. Cornus florida ‘Rubra’. 15-25 ft.Growing TwigDogwoods. The Twig types thrive in wet conditions and will grow happily along the banks of ponds, streams and rivers, where they are often found in nature. RedTwigDogwood and their bright red stems as part of the Featured Plant Series by Those Plant Ladies; January 2021. In warmer months, this plant is a nice filler shrub. The stems of Cornus sericea are green in the summer, but change to shades of red in the winter. Stem color is more pronounced on young twigs and thus the plant is a perfect candidate for the pruning technique known as renewal pruning. The new shoots of red-twigdogwoods are the most colorful, fading to grown and gray once they’re 3 or 4 years old. You can’t coppice everything, though. Trees that are generally grown as single-trunk plants, for example, don’t respond well to a near total cutback. Redtwigdogwood, a plant native to this area, pops with color. By author. Now, with eyes accustomed to a wide variety of drabness, we round a corner to be blasted with the intense reds of our local red-twigdogwoods, a welcome bright oddity in the dun winter forest. Redtwig (Cornus), also known as redoiser, dogwoods have long been grown for their brilliant red stems that brighten the winter landscape.A bit more information: Cardinal redtwigdogwood grows 8 to 10 feet tall and wide, is resistant to leaf spot disease and has cherry red stems. Coppicing Cut-back pruning can rejuvenate old bushes, or in this case, can result in more colorful young branches on a red-twigdogwood. (George Weigel). When do I prune redtwigdogwood?
