Its root system provides excellent soil retention, it is hardy and provides an attractive shrub even when bare in winter, and its ability to be reproduced by cuttings makes it a low-cost solution for large-scale plantings. A variety of pesticides are effective however, hand-picking the larvae is also an option.Ĭornus sericea is frequently used for waterway bank erosion protection and restoration in the United States and Canada. Like most dogwood species native to North America, C. sericea can be parasitized by the dogwood sawfly, possibly leaving much of the plant devoid of leaves.
The cultivars 'Bud's Yellow', Īnd 'Hedgerows Gold' (variegated foliage) have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017). Cultivation Ĭornus sericea is a popular ornamental shrub that is often planted for the red coloring of its twigs in the dormant season. Īlthough its conservation status is overall secure, it is considered vulnerable in Iowa and critically imperiled in Kentucky and Virginia. It thrives in fire-disturbed sites, sprouting from seeds or damaged shrubs. It tolerates disturbance well, and appears early in both primary and secondary succession throughout its native range, but especially in floodplains and riparian zones. Ĭornus sericea is shade tolerant but prefers intermediate to high light levels. The shrub is also important for nesting habitat and cover for a great variety of animals. In winter, red osier dogwood is heavily browsed by ungulates in some areas use exceeds availability and individuals which have not been browsed are rare. The stems and especially new shoots are browsed by moose, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, beavers, and rabbits, while the fruits are an important autumn food source for bears, small mammals, and 47 different bird species. Red osier dogwood provides food and cover for many species of mammals and birds. The Latin specific epithet sericea means "silky", referring to the texture of the leaves.
The fruit is a globose white berry 5–9 mm diameter. The flowers are small (5–10 mm diameter), flat, umbella-like and dull white, in clusters 3–6 cm diameter. Like all dogwoods, they have characteristic stringy white piths within the leaf stalks, which can be used for identification. The leaves are opposite, 5–12 cm long and 2.5–6 cm broad, with an ovate to oblong shape and an entire margin they are dark green above and glaucous below fall color is commonly bright red to purple. The branches and twigs are dark red, although wild plants may lack this coloration in shaded areas. It is a medium to tall deciduous shrub, growing 1.5–4 m tall and 3–5 m wide, spreading readily by underground stolons to form dense thickets. It occurs from sea level to 10,000 feet (3,000m), but in many areas is most common above 1,500 feet. Red osier dogwood is tolerant of flooding and has been known to survive up to seven years of water above root crown level. More uncommonly, it may be found in drier zones albeit at lesser abundance. In the wild, it most commonly grows in areas of rich, poorly drained soils, such as riparian zones and wetlands, or in upland areas which receive more than 20 inches of precipitation annually.
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