{"id":3271,"date":"2020-12-28T05:39:53","date_gmt":"2020-12-28T13:39:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=3271"},"modified":"2020-12-28T05:39:53","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T13:39:53","slug":"seeing-red","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/seeing-red\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing Red"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Red-twigged<\/a>What with all the seasonal decorations, scarlet poinsettias, and other adornments, we are all seeing red at this time of the year.\u00a0 But what about the cold, dark days that still loom ahead?\u00a0 You have to be a real optimist to look out at the winter landscape and see anything other than shades of brown, gray, long-faded green, and dirty white.\u00a0 I was thrilled when I saw a spot of red in one of my front beds and raced out to see what it was, only to find that it was a piece of windswept trash that escaped the neighbors\u2019 can.<\/p>\n

Of course, we gardeners are better equipped than many people to \u201ckeep calm and carry on.\u201d\u00a0 That is why God created plant catalogs.\u00a0 However, you can also do something about the drab winter landscape\u2014at least for next winter\u2014by investing in shrubs with red stems or branches.\u00a0 In the absence of leaves, these bright stems glow in the winter light.<\/p>\n

The plants in question are members of two genera: Cornus or dogwood, and Salix or willow.\u00a0 All are reliable, unfussy growers that are somewhat adaptable to the conditions in most gardens.<\/p>\n

My front yard is home to Salix alba subsp. vitellina \u2018Britzensis\u2019, otherwise known as coral bark willow.\u00a0 As the name suggests, this is a subspecies of white willow, but its claim to fame is that new growth emerges brilliant red.\u00a0 I grow mine as a small tree, because I like having room underneath for perennials and annuals.\u00a0 It can also be grown as a multi-stemmed shrub.<\/p>\n

If you consult reference sources about \u2018Britzensis\u2019, you are likely to be alarmed, as at least one reliable source says that it can grow between 15 and 80 feet tall, while achieving 10 to 50 feet in width.\u00a0 I have never seen one anywhere near that big.\u00a0 What the information tells you is that the variety grows vigorously, especially in the damp circumstances it favors.\u00a0 It is a willow, after all, and like its relatives, grows so readily that it will root virtually overnight in a glass of water.<\/p>\n

That said, all you have to do is prune regularly, a job that is not even that hard.\u00a0 My tree-form \u2018Britzensis\u2019 is probably seven feet tall and four feet wide at the crown.\u00a0 By pruning it hard twice a year, I control its rampant tendencies and assure myself a large amount of new growth, which is the only part of the plant that is red.\u00a0 Looking out the window now, I see \u2018Britzensis\u2019 aflame in the light of a late December afternoon.<\/p>\n

The red-stemmed dogwoods hail from three species; Cornus sericea or red osier dogwood; Cornus alba, also known as white dogwood; and Cornus sanguinea or bloodtwig dogwood.<\/p>\n

With its clusters of white spring flowers, abundant pinkish-white fruits, and flaming winter stems, Cornus sericea \u2018Cardinal\u2019 provides near year-round interest.\u00a0 It is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub that thrives in either sun or light shade, and will even work in boggy soil.\u00a0 Though it is vigorous, it has somewhat better manners that Salix \u2018Britzensis\u2019, growing only six to nine feet tall and eight to 12 feet wide.\u00a0 It can be kept smaller with judicious pruning, which also produces more stems.\u00a0 As with other red-twigged specimens, the color comes with new growth and shows best in winter, after the leaves have departed.<\/p>\n

Developed at the University of Minnesota, \u2018Cardinal\u2019 is descended from a native species.\u00a0 It is perfect for informal hedges, rain gardens, habitat landscapes, or use as a stunning specimen.<\/p>\n

Bloodtwig dogwood\u2019 is a rather barbarous name for a lovely plant of European origin.\u00a0 The \u2018Midwinter Fire\u2019 variety of Cornus sanguinea features small white spring flowers, golden fall leaves and black berries that will attract birds and wildlife.\u00a0 Its claim to fame, however, is \u00a0golden winter stems topped by bright red twigs\u2014a combination certain to stand out even when earth, sky and everything in between are the same shade of midwinter gray and the indoor environment may well carry the lingering odor of wet wool or wet dog.<\/p>\n

Tatarian dogwood, or Cornus alba, is native to Asia, and is normally grown as a multi-stemmed shrub.\u00a0 Comfortable in smaller spaces, the red-twigged \u2018Sibirica\u2019 variety grows only four to seven feet tall and three to five feet wide.\u00a0 The new growth flames red in winter, but, the plant offers four seasons of interest.\u00a0 Showy white flower clusters or cymes appear in the spring, followed by white berries or drupes that sometimes have a hint of blue.\u00a0 The elongated ovoid leaves turn red-purple in autumn, before ceding the spotlight to the bright red stem growth.\u00a0 As with other red-twigged varieties, the harder \u2018Sibirica\u2019 is pruned, the more red stems appear during winter\u2019s dark days.<\/p>\n

Whether you grow Salix \u2018Britzensis\u2019 or one of the red-twigged dogwoods, a sunny or lightly shaded site with consistent moisture will make your chosen plant happiest.\u00a0 All have a tendency to increase in size by suckering, which if fine if you are filling in a hedge or planting a semi-naturalistic landscape. \u00a0If you need to contain the chosen plant\u2019s size, remove the suckers as they emerge.\u00a0 It is a small price to pay for relief from the winter garden doldrums.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What with all the seasonal decorations, scarlet poinsettias, and other adornments, we are all seeing red at this time of the year.\u00a0 But what about the cold, dark days that still loom ahead?\u00a0 You have to be a real optimist to look out at the winter landscape and see anything other than shades of brown, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,5],"tags":[2436,2437,2433,2434,2432,2431,2430,1972,2435,976],"class_list":["post-3271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-winter","tag-bloodtwig-dogwood","tag-coral-bark-willow","tag-cornus-alba","tag-cornus-sanguinea","tag-cornus-sericea","tag-red-osier-dogwood","tag-red-twigged-plants","tag-salix-britzensis","tag-white-dogwood","tag-winter-interest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3271"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3273,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3271\/revisions\/3273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}