Cornus canadensis

Creeping dogwood originates in North America (N. USA and Canada), Greenland, and N. Asia. It is a tough, rhizomatous perennial which forms a beautiful carpet of attractive foliage and flowers.

Being a dogwood, its true flowers are inconspicuous, tiny and composed in small, spherical heads. But the bracts surrounding it are the showy things. They are white and their size largely varies among individual seedlings, but plants commonly sold in garden centres are selected for larger flowers/bracts that can measure up to 4 cm across. They are followed by clusters of rich red, glossy berries in autumn. They are edible but lack a significant flavour (source: www.pfaf.org).

The leaves are similar to those on Japanese dogwood – ovate to obovate with a few prominent veins running across. They are fresh green in spring, mid to dark green in summer, and turning carmine red and burgundy purple in autumn. If the winter is mild they persist on the plant until spring when they should be removed, anyway, in order to let the new ones push through.

Creeping dogwood prefers evenly moist but well-drained, acid soil. Especially in its first year after transplanting make sure it does not dry on. Grow it in partial shade or deep shade as it does not need full sun to flower. It is extremely hardy to min. -45°C (USDA zone 2).

Last update 19-02-2013