Red Dogwood - Cornus alba Elegantissima
A wonderfully easy plant to maintain with a swift growth rate, Cornus alba Elegantissima is a dogwood with variegated foliage. Its leaves have a jagged, creamy margin and an olive green centre. It produces small white flowers in May and June, which are followed by white fruit that sometimes have a hint of pale blue. Neither of these are very showy, however, and most gardeners grow dogwoods for another reason. Like other varieties of Cornus alba, Elegantissima's great appeal is the glistening red bark of its new stems, which can transform a frozen winter landscape, especially when planted en masse. Dogwoods love moisture and are perfect plants to go on a river bank, in marshy areas or a bog garden. Cornus alba Elegantissima won the RHS Award of Garden merit in 2002.
Pruning Cornus alba Elegantissima
- Ornamental Use: Read about hard pruning (coppicing) Dogwood.
- Hedges: If you are planting Elegantissima as part of a hedge, prune them hard at the time of planting and then trim them normally with the rest of the hedge.
Planting Cornus alba Elegantissima
Dogwoods aren't fussy about soil and while they prefer full sun, they will still grow vigorously as long as they get half a day of good light. Although they come from marshy areas that would drown the roots of most other large plants, dogwoods are flexible and will succeed just about anywhere, even in dry soils. If the quality of your soil is especially poor and dry, take the time to improve it before planting with lots of well rotted compost or manure. In the unlikely event that your Dogwood looks unwell, feed it a quick release fertiliser each year, just before you apply the mulch.
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