Cornus mas, the Cornelian Cherry, is a type of dogwood. It is actually a small tree and is ideal as a specimen. Cornus mas flowers early in the year, usually starting in February, with loads of small yellow flowers appearing on the bare branches. It looks fantastic when the morning or afternoon sun is behind it and shines through the branches. The flowers ripen into bright red, edible cherry-like fruits, which give this tree its common name of Cornelian Cherry (Cornel is another word for dogwood). The leaves turn a lovely reddish-purple in the autumn to finish off the show. All of which make it one of those "three tricks in one" garden plants that help create year round interest.
However, and just to be clear, this dogwood does not have brightly coloured bark and should not be hard pruned down to ground level every spring. It is fine to hard prune it if it gets overgrown. It can reach 5 metres if it grows freely as a tree.
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General description of Cornus mas plants:History & uses of Cornelian Cherry Trees: Little is know of its origins; it has been grown in Britain for several hundred years and is naturalised in some areas.