Gray Dogwood

Tagged as: Trees and Shrubs That Attract Birds, Large Deciduous Shrubs, native, Plants for Shady Sites, Plants Tolerant of Wet Sites

Botanical Name: Cornus racemosa
Common Name: Gray Dogwood

Updated 3/2012

Click on an image to enlarge

form	flowers	fall color

Height: 10-15' Spread: 10-15' Habit/Form: Multi-stemmed, upright spreading
Growth Rate: Slow Zone: 3-8

Cultural Requirements: A very adaptable shrub that prospers in sun or shade, in wet or dry soils. An excellent plant to use along ponds and stream banks.

Ornamental Characteristics: The blue-green foliage turns a purplish-red. Creamy white flowers appear in flat clusters in May, followed by white berries in late summer that are quickly eaten by birds. Attractive bright red stems from fruit clusters persist through winter.

Uses in the Landscape: An excellent shrub for naturalizing, especially in difficult sites. Its suckering, spreading habit makes it impractical for formal plantings but it can be incorporated into the shrub border and useful as a mass planting. Native to the Midwest.

Birds Attracted: 98+ species including flicker, tanager, woodpeckers, and catbird

Plant Appeal for Birds: Fruit ripens July through October and persist into early winter; shelter; nesting site

Plant tolerant of flooded areas for extended periods of time.

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