Cornelian Cherry Dogwood
Brighten your spring landscape and provide an early food source for pollinators with Cornelian cherry dogwood (Cornus mas).
This four-season plant starts the year with bright yellow blossoms about the same time the forsythias bloom. The flowers are replaced with red elongated cherry-like fruit. They are edible but very tart. You’ll need to add quite a bit of sugar when making jam and jelly. Or dry, pickle, juice or ferment them into Cornelian cherry wine. You can use them in the same way you would cranberries or tart cherries.
Enjoy the fall display as the leaves turn a beautiful maroon. But the show isn’t over as the leaves drop to reveal the beautiful peeling bark on mature trees.
This dogwood can be grown as a single or multi-stem small tree or large shrub. Hardy in zones 4 to 7 or 8, it prefers full sun to partial shade.
A bit more information: Proper timing of harvest will improve the flavor. Pick Cornelian cherries when they begin to soften. Immature fruit is edible, but very astringent.
Related
Audio
Categories
Upcoming Live Events
& Webinars
April 17, 2024
Landscaping for Birds:
A Gardener’s Perspective
Glendale, WI
April 18, 2024
Be a Waterwise Gardener
Golden Rondelle Theater, Racine, WI
Register now
April 20, 2024
Pruning Hydrangeas and Other Shrubs
Pasquesi Home & Gardens, Lake Bluff, IL
April 27, 2024
Ridges & Rivers Book Festival
Viroqua, WI
April 28, 2024
Flowering Trees and Shrubs
Ebert's Greenhouse Village, Ixonia, WI
May 1, 2024
FREE WEBINAR
Ornamental Fruits and Vegetables
Register now
May 4, 2024
Garden U 2024
New Richmond, WI
Register now
May 9, 2024
FREE WEBINAR
How to Plant Your Rain Garden
Register now
May 11, 2024
Ask The Plant Doctor Q & A
Ebert's Greenhouse Village, Ixonia, WI
May 12, 2024
Ask The Plant Doctor Q & A
Ebert's Greenhouse Village, Ixonia, WI
May 18, 2024
Ask The Plant Doctor Q & A
Ebert's Greenhouse Village, Ixonia, WI
June 1, 2024
Selecting, Planting, Pruning and Caring for Hydrangeas
Ebert's Greenhouse Village, Ixonia, WI
June 5, 2024
FREE WEBINAR
Under-Appreciated Pollinators
Register now
WATCH ON-DEMAND WEBINARS
Learn More