Red Twig Dogwood
Cornus sericea
A native shrub prized for bright red stems that glow against winter snow, with white berries for birds. It thrives in wet, boggy ground, and its spreading roots help hold banks. Cut out older stems in early spring for the brightest colour; it spreads into thickets and gets stressed in hot, humid summers.
- Mature size
- 7.5 × 8.5 ft
- 2.3 × 2.6 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 2a–7b
- USDA
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Water
- Medium to moist
- Blooms
- May–Jun
- Fall color Oct–Nov
Red Twig Dogwood at its mature size
A mature Red Twig Dogwood grows 6 to 9 feet tall and 7 to 10 feet wide, taller than most people.
Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.
Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: Missouri Botanical Garden.
Through the year
What Red Twig Dogwood looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
Dormant · Dec–Mar
Bare: thicket of bright glowing coral-red upright stems, no leaves.
In leaf · Apr–Sep
Medium green oval leaves on red upright stems.
Fall · Oct–Nov
Orange, red and purple, moderately bright, red stems showing.
Photos
Growing Red Twig Dogwood
- Grows well in
- The Northeast, the Midwest, the Plains and Mountain West, and the Pacific Northwest.
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Good for
- Hedge, specimen, rain garden, slopes, deer resistant, pollinators, fall color, winter interest, and fast growing
- Leaves
- Drops its leaves in winter
- Native to
- North America
Spacing for a hedge
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Red Twig Dogwood, that’s about 8.5 ft apart, center to center.
Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.
See Red Twig Dogwood in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.
Other dogwoods
Ivory Halo Dogwood
Red Twig Dogwood
Kousa Dogwood
Pagoda DogwoodAll drawn to the same scale.