Green Thumb Corner

Dogwood - Cream Cracker, Cornus alba 'Cream Cracker' (PP12830), is a beautiful variegated dogwood shrub with excellent leaf spot resistance. The green leaves have a cream colored variegation on the older leaves, while the young leaves have a golden yellow margin. It displays a flat-topped cluster of small white flowers that bloom from spring until summer. Purplish-red stems are revealed in winter, which is a nice addition of color in the winter garden. Cream Cracker does well in moderate shade and is a slow grower. It prefers moist, well drained soil and tolerates moist to wet soil. Use in naturalizing moist areas or mass plantings. Attracts birds.

Dogwood - Huron®, Cornus Racemosa 'Hurzam', forms a rounded, almost perfect, natural globe-form that grows 3 to 4 feet in height and width. Its dark green foliage is highlighted by white bloom clusters and luminous white fruit. It displays a deep burgundy fall color. Huron grows in full sun or shade and is widely adaptable to tough landscape sites. Huron Dogwood makes a wonderful landscape foundation plant, miniature hedge, border, or can be used in mass plantings. Useful in city, highway and urban plantings, it is salt tolerant, insect and disease resistant. Very adaptable and thrives in areas with harsh growing conditions.

Alleman's Compact Dogwood, Cornus sericea 'Alleman's Compact', is a four season beauty with white blossoms in May, pleasant green foliage in summer, giving way to bright red berries in fall, and finally an outstanding red twig color for winter. This dogwo

European Variegated Dogwood, Cornus alba 'Argenteo-marginata', is one of the larger ornamental shrubs with attractive cream and green variegated foliage. This plant has year-round appeal in the landscape, displaying variegated leaves in summer and vibrant red branches in winter. It needs sun to partial shade; prefers moist, well-drained soil but tolerates a range of soil conditions. It is rapid growing and has showy, green and white variegated leaves that last till fall. Dramatic in mass plantings and works well in the small home garden. Prune hard in late winter because the new growth is the most brilliantly colored. The tree form elevates the bright red wood in winter.

The Cardinal Red Osier Dogwood, Cornus sericea 'Cardinal', is a MNRC introduction. The Cardinal Red Osier Dogwood was selected for its bright red winter twig color. Cardinal Red is best grown in organically rich, medium wet to wet soils in full sun to part shade but tolerates a wide range of soils, including swampy or boggy conditions. Cardinal Red Osier is a hybrid Dogwood that was developed by the University of Minnesota in 1986. NC-7 Trials top-performing plant. 2004 Plant of Merit. Tiny white flowers appear in flat-topped clusters in late spring. Flowers give way to clusters of creamy white fruit in late summer. Fruit is very attractive to birds and is generally considered to have as much if not more ornamental interest than the flowers. Dark green leaves turn an attractive red-purple in autumn.

The Gray Dogwood, 'Cornus racemosa', is a deciduous shrub which typically occurs in moist or rocky ground along streams, ponds, wet meadows, glade and prairie margins, thickets and rocky bluffs. It grows 10-15' tall and features white flowers borne in

The Dogwood 'Yellow Twig', Cornus sericea 'Flaviramea', is a medium sized shrub with bright yellow twigs. These yellow twigs provide a good contrast against any Red-twig with its yellow fall color. The foliage is medium to dark green in summer, followed by purplish fall color. The twigs are green in summer, but turn bright clear yellow in fall and are quite conspicuous in winter, especially if planted in groups with one of the red twigged dogwoods. Pruned twigs invariably die back to the next bud and turn black from there to the pruned end of the twig, leaving ugly black ends on bright yellow twigs. Prune with care; remove branches or twigs only at the ground line. Plant in full sun and provide a well watered location.

Pagoda Dogwood, 'Cornus alternifolia', is a large ornamental shrub, or small tree, with irregular tiers of branches forming a somewhat horizontal plant. It reaches a maximum height of around 25 feet. The pale yellow flowers in May are followed by blue-black fruits. The fragrant flowering that occurs in late May and early June and can be described as moderately showy. Pagoda Dogwood prefers cool, moist, acidic soils and partial shade is ideal, but full sun is acceptable if the site is not hot and dry. It does perform best in colder climates. The older bark is gray brown and lightly ridged and furrowed with the younger bark being smooth and reddish brown. The fruit stalks remain and turn a pleasing coral red color in late winter. This shrub is disease resistant and has a fibrous, spreading root system.

Snow Lace® Gray Dogwood, Cornus racemosa 'Emerald', displays white flowers in spring, with rosy-pink berries in fall which creates a nice contrast to the silvery-gray bark. Its superior emerald-green semi-glossy foliage develops purple fall color. Snow Lace® Gray Dogwood's ability to spread makes it ideal for banks and slopes since it has a very dense form. It grows somewhat slower than is typical of the species, averaging six inches a year. Its habit is distinctly mound-like to rounded growth and gradually reaches a height of seven to nine feet. The colorful rosy-pink pedicels contrasting with its silvery-gray stems, combine to produce an attractive landscape shrub.

The Redosier Dogwood, Cornus sericea, is a freely spreading shrub with many stems, 3-18' tall; branching is opposite, young stems (and most old ones) often bright, smooth, shiny red. Leaves are opposite, deciduous, oval 5-10 cm long. White threads run through the veins toewards the leaf tip. Flowers are white to greenish, small 2-4 mm across with 4 petals.; flowers are numerous in dense flat-topped clusters. Fruits are white, berry-like drupes, 7-9 mm long. This plant brightens up a winter landscape. Shade tolerant; provides cover and food for wildlife and birds. It is adapted to both wet and dry sites and a variety of soil types.

Golden Glory Corneliancherry, Cornus mas 'Golden Glory', is a rounded, multi-stemmed shrub or small tree. Small yellow flowers are produced freely in spring and are followed by 5/8" bright cherry-red fruit in summer. The glossy, deep green foliage turns y

Colorado Red Osier Dogwood, Cornus sericea 'coloradensis', is a fast growing large shrub with white flowers in spring and then produces clusters of blue-white fruit in fall. Its green summer foliage turns red-purple in fall so you will enjoy its red twigs all winter. Colorado Red Osier Dogwood grows to about eight feet tall and spreads into a thicket by sending out root shoots. This plant is rugged, tolerating most soil conditions except for very dry soils. With additional water, growth rates of 3 to 4 feet per year are possible. It will even grow in wet, swampy conditions and may thrive in sun or shade. The Dogwood is good cover for birds and wildlife. For a screen or windbreak, plant 2 to 3 feet apart.