Cornus sericea 'Farrow' ARCTIC FIRE

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Cornus sericea 'Farrow' ARCTIC FIRE

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Kemper Code: C588

Common Name: red twig dogwood
Zone: 3 to 7
Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Cornaceae
Missouri Native: No
Native Range: None
Height: 3 to 4 feet
Spread: 3 to 4 feet
Bloom Time: May - June
Bloom Color: White
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Medium

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Plant Culture and Characteristics

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Uses:		Wildlife:	Flowers:	Leaves:	Fruit:
Hedge	Suitable as annual	Attracts birds	Has showy flowers	Leaves colorful	Has showy fruit
Shade tree	Culinary herb	Attracts	Has fragrant flowers	Leaves fragrant	Fruit edible
Street tree	Vegetable	hummingbirds	Flowers not showy	Good fall color	Other:
Flowering tree	Water garden plant	Attracts	Good cut flower	Evergreen	Winter interest
Gr. cover (<1')	Will naturalize	butterflies	Good dried flower		Thorns or spines

General Culture:

Best grown in organically rich, medium to wet soils in full sun to part shade. Tolerant of a wide range of soils, including swampy or boggy conditions. Prefers consistently moist, well-drained soils. Best red stem color occurs on young stems. Although pruning is not required, many gardeners choose to remove 20-25% of the oldest stems in early spring of each year to stimulate growth of new stems which will display the best yellow color. As an alternative to annual pruning, some gardeners prune all stems close to the ground in early spring every 2-3 years to renew. Any loss of flowers through spring pruning is not terribly significant since the small flowers of this dogwood are rather ordinary. Plants may become stressed and more vulnerable to diseases such as canker in hot summer climates south of USDA Zone 7.

Noteworthy Characteristics:

ARCTIC FIRE is a dwarf redtwig dogwood cultivar that is primarily grown for its bright red winter stems which are particularly showy against a snowy backdrop. It typically grows to 3-4’ tall and as wide with dense stems. It lacks the stoloniferous, spreading habit of the species. Tiny white flowers appear in flat-topped clusters (to 2.5” diameter) 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 late summer. Fruit is quite attractive to birds and is generally considered to have as much if not more ornamental interest than the flowers. However, it is the red winter stems that really distinguish this shrub. Ovate to lanceolate, dark green leaves (2-4” long). Leaves turn reddish purple in autumn. U. S. Plant Patent Applied For (PPAF).

Problems:

No serious insect or disease problems. Susceptible to leaf and twig blights. Scale, bagworms and leaf miner are occasional insect pests.

Uses:

Excellent dwarf selection for smaller gardens. Mass in areas where the red stems in winter can be enjoyed. Effective in shrub borders where plants can be combined with evergreens or yellow twig dogwoods (e.g., see Cornus sericea ‘Cato’ ARCTIC SUN – C606 herein) for interesting winter contrast.