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Cornus sanguinea alternative
martin_harding
Posts: 26
in Plants
Hey all, I need some advice.
I'm looking at what to use in a newly cleared bed (about 1.8m x 1.8m) to add a splash of colour to our front garden. Cornus sanguinea 'Winter Flame' would be great, with its fiery reddish-orange stems in winter and green and white in summer, but at a spread of 2m and height of 3m, it's too big for the bed.
Can anyone suggest a species that can give the same colour range, but at a more manageable size?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Martin
0
Posts
Hydrangea plant is good, about 1m sq, well mine is. nice 0 maintenance just a harsh cutback at the end of the season for big blooms on the next. It is available everywhere and is "cheap". it also give opportunity for some grasses, Antirrhinum and some bulbs for spring colour.
Hello Martin
Take a look at Nandina domestica on Google ; it isn't a bamboo contrary to the common name .
Subtle slightly arching stems and white flowers , often with good red Autumn/Winter colouration .
Prefers a neutral to acid loamy soil if you can provide it !
Martin......I grow Cornus Sibirica and, after it's pruned back in spring, reaches @ four feet in height x three feet wide during the summer.
Cornus alba sibirica is much redder than Winter Flame and also can be cut back hard every spring to control size and renew the fresh red stem colour. The sanguineas are less happy about heavy pruning and tend to sulk in my experience.
Nandina domestica would be very good as long as your soil is not too wet and you don't get hard frosts. It didn't like my Belgian garden at all but is fine here where it's drier and only freezes to about -6C.
Hydrangea paniculata will not give you stem colour but will flower on new season's wood so can be cut back hard every spring to control size. Mophead and lace cap hydrangeas flower on old wood so not a good swap.
Thinking of Hydrangeas (prompted by Obelixx) , what about a H.quercifolia ? Can be kept tidy ; attractive flowers and foliage with good Autumn tints too .
Last edited: 03 February 2018 17:06:50
Thanks for the replies peeps, I have another question - does anyone here have any experience with Cornus sanguinea 'Arctic Fire'? I've done a bit of research and it seems to be a smaller variant of the Winter Flame cultivar, but the only references to it I can find are from American nurseries. Does anyone know if this variant is available in the UK?