In the wild, the native red-osier dogwood forms large thickets in moist woods. Its most outstanding feature is the dark red winter color of its stems. Under cultivation, it is grown as a multi-stemmed shrub. Small white flowers bloom in late spring followed by white to pale blue drupes that appear in mid-summer and are beloved by birds. While it can attain a height of 10 feet, most gardeners prune in early spring by removing older stems, because the younger stems provide the best color.

Members of the genus Cornus, commonly known as dogwoods, are welcome in the home garden for their multi-season interest -- be it flowers, fruit, foliage, and/or bark -- and their range of forms from small trees to suckering shrubs. The dominant display, however, varies among the species.

Dogwoods are native to cooler temperate areas of North America and Asia. The genus includes 45-60 species, divided into subgenera about which taxonomists disagree. The Chicago Botanic Garden's collection includes almost 100 varieties of dogwood from 20 species (7 of which are native) and over 2,400 plants.