Scientific Name:
Cornus alba
'Elegantissima'
Pronunciation:
KORE-nus AL-buh
Common Name:
silverleaf dogwood, variegated Siberian dogwood
Family Name:
Cornaceae
Plant Type:
Shrub - deciduous
Key ID Features:
Shrub to 3m tall; leaves opposite, ovate-elliptic, 4-11cm long x 2-5cm wide, margin entire, creamy-white variegation, upper surface wrinkly, underside glaucous, petiole 8-25mm long; florets tiny, white, flat corymb-like cymes, late spring; flowers 6-8mm wide, 4 white petals pink then cream ovary and stamens, in corymb-like cymes; drupes ellipsoid, white (may have a bluish tinge), 7-9mm long. Winter ID: buds valvate, appressed, red to brown-black; stems turn blood red (very similar to C. sericea and may be sold as C. 'Argenteo-marginata').
Habit:
Arching, Open, Spreading
Form:
Oval - horizontal, Round
Texture:
Medium - coarse
Mature Height:
2 - 3m
Mature Spread:
2 - 3m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
Central / west Asia, Garden origin, 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, 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 'Elegantissima'). Compare to other variegated cultivars such as C. 'Bailhalo' and C. serica 'Silver and Gold". NOTE: only the variegated cultivar shown is the one indicated. Other cultivars shown or on campus may include C. 'Budd's Yellow', and C. 'Regnzam' (extremely compact and dense with red fall colours).
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Opposite
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Heavily veined, Pinnate venation
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Fall:
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, Galls, Leaf miner insect, Mites, Nematodes, Root rot, Scale insects, Stem borer insects, Thrips (Deer resistant)
Course(s):
- Level 2 Apprenticeship
Location(s):
- (GAZ) GAZebo
- (GAZS) GAZebo South
- (NRY) NuRserY