Cornelian Cherry Hedge Plants

Cornus mas: Bareroot Cornelian Cherry Trees / Hedging

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Cornus mas, the Cornelian Cherry, or edible dogwood, is a small tree or large shrub and is ideal as either a specimen or as part of a mixed hedge. It flowers early in the year (which is great for bees), usually starting in February, sometimes January, with loads of small, yellow, witch hazel-like 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, acidic, 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: it doesn't have brightly coloured new bark, but mature plants have moderately interesting, flaky brown bark. All of which make it one of those "three tricks in one" garden plants that help create year round interest.

It can reach 5 metres if it is pruned into a tree, but about 3 metres is typical for a shrub in the wild.

Browse all of our other varieties of Dogwood, our selection of shrub hedging or our full range of hedging plants.

Delivery season: Cornelian Cherries are delivered bareroot during late autumn and winter, approximately November-March inclusive.

Features:

• Height: To 3-5m
• Soil: Any. Thrives on chalk and damp soil.
• Use: Hedging, Specimen, Waterside
• Colour: Yellow flowers in Jan/Feb - March
• Edible red fruit in June-August
• RHS Plants for Pollinators
• Bareroot delivery only: November-March
  

Growing Edible Dogwood

Dogwoods are tough shrubs that thrive in damp soils near water, but once established are also fine in dry, poor soil. They won't flower much in more than partial shade, so if you are planting them as a specimen, the more sun the better.

To be clear, this dogwood should not be hard pruned down to ground level every spring as you would with an ornamental dogwood like midwinter fire, although it is fine to hard prune it if it gets overgrown.