Myriad Botanical Gardens - Oklahoma City, USA

Common name: Red Twig Dogwood

Family: Cornaceae (Dogwood family)

Distribution: North America

IUCN Red list: Not evaluated

Hardiness: 3a

Life form: Deciduous shrub/sub-shrub

Comments: 'Allemans' is a compact cultivar which grows up to a size of 5' tall by 5' wide with a spreading, stoloniferous habit. Tiny, fragrant, white flowers appear in flat-topped clusters in late spring, with sparse, intermittent, additional flowering sometimes continuing into summer. Flowers give way to clusters of whitish (sometimes with a bluish tinge) drupes in summer. Fruit is quite attractive to birds and other wildlife. The most popular ornamental feature of this plant though, is its bright red winter stems.Many gardeners prune this plant to the ground (rejuvenation pruning) once every 2-3 years (or 20%-25% every year) to ensure vibrant red colored stems (which occur on the youngest wood). There are some problems facing this cultivar, such as its susceptibility to leaf and twig blights, and the occasional pest problems of scale bugs, leaf miners and bagworms.