| Description | Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) A medium to tall, wide-spreading native shrub. It has white flowers followed by white fruit that birds quickly consume. |
|---|---|
| Plant Type | Shrubs Deciduous, Site author's observations, shrubs native |
| Hardiness Zone | 4-8 |
| Sunlight | full to partial shade |
| Moisture | average to moist |
| Soil & Site | average to moist |
| Flowers | white, end of May to early June |
| Fruit | white berry-like fruit called drupes, quickly consumed by the birds |
| Leaves | gray-green during the growing season, changing to purples/red tones in the fall |
| Dimensions | becomes 6-10 feet tall and wide, spreading, has an aggressive suckering habit |
| Maintenance | can be cut back hard to maintain size, may need to dig out sucking offshoots |
| Propagation | seeds, cuttings |
| Native Site | Maine to Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin south to Georgia and Nebraska |
| Cultivar Origin | Introduced in 1758 |
| Author's Notes | It can't be understated how aggressive this plant can get by suckering. In natural sites, I observed large, thick stands of this shrub. The stands will form a high point in the middle and taper down to the sides. The center is where the mother plant is, and all the rest are suckers. I had a Tree Form Gray Twig Dogwood in my yard, reaching over 15 feet tall. I am still digging out the suckers after I cut it down. |
| Notes & Reference | #01-Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (Michael Dirr), #175-Dogwoods (Paul Cappiello and Don Shadow), #274-Site Authors' observations and growing experiences |
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