Scientific Name:
Cornus alba
Pronunciation:
KORE-nus AL-buh
Common Name:
Siberian dogwood, Tatarian dogwood, white dogwood
Family Name:
Cornaceae
Plant Type:
Shrub - deciduous
Key ID Features:
Shrub to 3m tall; leaves opposite, ovate-elliptic, 5-12cm long x 2-6cm wide, margin entire, upper surface wrinkly, underside glaucous, petiole 8-25mm long; florets tiny, white, flat corymb-like cymes, late spring; florets 6-8mm wide, 4 white petals pink then cream ovary and stamens, in corymb-like cymes 3-6cm wide; drupes ellipsoid, white (may have a bluish tinge, especially with C. 'Sibirica'), 7-9mm long. Winter ID: buds valvate, appressed, red to brown-black; stems turn blood red (very similar to C. sericea).
Habit:
Arching, Open, Spreading
Form:
Oval - horizontal, Round
Texture:
Medium
Mature Height:
2 - 3m
Mature Spread:
2 - 3m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
Central / west Asia, S.E. Asia / Japan / China (Russia, N. China, Korea)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 3: (-40 to -34 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun, Part sun/part shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Water Use:
Moderate
Landscape Uses:
Accent plant, Attract beneficial insects, Attract birds, Fall interest, Group or mass planting, Mixed shrub border, Screening, Summer interest, Winter interest, Woodland margin
Additional Info:
Google (now considered synonymous to C. sericea subsp. sericea). Cultivars shown or on campus may include C. 'Aurea', C. 'Prairie Fire' (lime green leaves), C. 'Bud's Yellow' (yellow twigs), and C. 'Regnzam' (extremely compact and dense with red fall colours), and two variegated cultivars, C. 'Elegantissima' (may be sold as C. 'Argenteo-marginata'), and C. 'Bailhalo' (Ivory Halo).
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Opposite
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Heavily veined, Pinnate venation
Surfaces:
Glabrous, Rugose
Colour in Fall:
Purple, Red
Shapes:
Elliptic, Ovate
Apices:
Acuminate, Acute
Bases:
Obtuse
Margins:
Entire
Additional Info:
Leaves variegated
Inflorescence Type:
Cyme, Corymb-like
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
4
Corolla Shape:
Cruciform
Ovary Position:
Inferior
Colour (petals):
Showy, White
Flower Scent:
None
Flower Time at Peak:
May, Jun
Fruit Type:
Drupe, Edible
Fruit Colour:
White
Fruiting Time:
Jun, Jul
Additional Info:
Showy, Edible
Bark Morphology:
Showy, Smooth, Prominent lenticels, Multi-stem trunk
Bark or Stem Colour:
Red
Leaf Bud Type:
Narrowly conical, Valvate
Leaf Scar Shape:
Crescent shaped
Propagation:
Greenwood cuttings, Softwood cuttings, Hardwood cuttings
Maintenance:
Low
Pest Susceptibility:
Anthracnose, Blight or needle cast, Canker or sap rot, Fungal leaf spot, Galls, Leaf miner insect, Mites, Nematodes, Root rot, Scale insects, Stem borer insects, Thrips (Deer resistant, Rabbit resistant)
Course(s):
- CLT Training
- HORT 1155
Location(s):
- (GAZ) GAZebo
- (GAZS) GAZebo South
- (NRY) NuRserY