'Midwinter Fire' Dogwood Plants

• Variety: Midwinter Fire, a Dogwood that lives up to its name
• Common name: Midwinter Fire Dogwood
• Latin name: Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire'
• Sold as: Bareroot plants at 30/40cm, and pot-grown in a 3 litre pot
• Size: 1.5 to 2.5m tall and wide if left alone, in 2-3 years. Smaller when coppiced
• Winter stems: Yellow at the base, shading to orange and red at the tips
• Leaves and flowers: Deciduous. Small white flowers in summer, orange-yellow autumn leaves
• Pruning: Coppice in spring, every other year
• Best soil and site: Most soils, wet ground included. Sun or partial shade, with full sun for the best colour
• Use: Specimen shrub, massed winter planting, low ornamental hedge
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• RHS Plants for Pollinators: Yes
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Pot-grown, all year when in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Midwinter Fire is a deciduous Dogwood grown for the colour of the current year's winter stems, which run from yellow at the base to orange and red at the tips. It grows 1.5 to 2.5 metres tall in most soils, in sun or partial shade, and we coppice ours every other spring to keep the colour coming.

'Midwinter Fire' Dogwood Plants

Cornus Midwinter Fire, is a medium-sized, deciduous shrub with dense, upright growth and blazing red, gold-yellow and orange winter bark: the closest thing to coral this side of the sea, surely one of the most striking of the shrubby dogwoods.

The summer leaves are green, turning an excellent orange-yellow in the autumn, with small white flowers in May and June.
Which is all nice enough, but its real glory is in winter, when it'll light your garden up on the dismal days between November and March. It'll reach 2 metres.

It really has no rival, and every garden should have one. No other garden shrub radiates such light and beauty over such an extended period of time, from the end of October through to late March

View our selection of dogwood shrubs or see our full range of hedging.

Delivery season: Dogwood plants are delivered bareroot during late autumn and winter, approximately November-April inclusive.

Growing Cornus Midwinter Fire

Like all dogwoods, it loves damp ground, but once it's established it'll grow happily on a dry bank. It'll grow faster in the sun, but partial shade is fine.

To keep those beautiful new stems coming, coppice them by cutting them down to the base in spring, every one or two years: cut above the third bud up from soil level on new plants. Mature plants will develop a stool, and you can use your own judgement about how much you remove, depending on how you like to manage your plants. Give them a nice mulch afterwards to help them bounce back vigorously.

Garden Design Ideas

Of all the dogwoods, this one lights up the garden in Winter, wonderful as a stand-alone shrub in a small garden.

We think Midwinter Fire Dogwood is at its best in a massed planting, with or without other dogwoods to set it off like the purple Kesselringii or the red Westonbirt. It's not as vigorous as the other dogwoods, so plant it at the front if you are using it in a mixed patch.

It goes well with pretty much any evergreen as a backdrop, and because you chop it down so often, all sorts of spring flowering bulbs can be deployed to provide interest while it regrows.

It's an interesting choice for an ornamental hedge that has no security or privacy purpose, because it needs to be cut close to the ground every other year (if you want that winter bark). For this purpose, a 50-75cm spacing is fine, because you aren't trying to make it into a proper barrier. For a real hedge, we would use common dogwood instead.

Planting Companions

The Golden Twig Dogwood carries the same colour range upward into yellow, and the two are coppiced together. Plant Snowdrops and other early bulbs at the foot, where they flower while the stems are at their best, and put an evergreen behind so the stems stand out. Dust bareroot plants with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Buy Hedging from Ashridge

Hedging is not a sideline here: your Dogwood is grown for us by specialist growers, and bareroot plants are lifted to order while dormant and guaranteed for 12 months. A pot-grown plant delivered leafless between November and March carries the same guarantee. Ashridge is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you cut Midwinter Fire back every year?

No. Give it a hard prune every couple of years, which keeps it compact without exhausting it. Leave a new plant alone for its first two years.

Why has my Dogwood lost its colour?

The colour is in the youngest stems, and old wood fades. Coppice the plant in spring and the new shoots that follow will colour up by winter.

How big does Midwinter Fire grow?

1.5 to 2.5 metres tall and as wide, reached in 5 to 10 years. Coppiced every other year it stays well below that.

How far apart do you plant Dogwood for winter colour?

For a block of colour, plant at 50 to 60cm. For a low ornamental hedge, 50 to 75cm is fine, because you are not trying to make a barrier.

Will Midwinter Fire grow in wet soil?

Yes. Like all Dogwoods it likes damp ground, and it grows in most soils in sun or partial shade. Once established it also copes with a dry bank.

When are Dogwood plants delivered?

Bareroot plants are delivered from November to April, while they are dormant. The plant in a 3 litre pot can be delivered and planted in any month when you find it in stock.