This shrub is deciduous so it will lose all its leaves in autumn, then fresh new foliage appears again each spring.
Position: full sun to part shade
Soil: any moderately fertile soil
Rate of growth: fast-growing
Flowering period: May to June
Hardiness: fully hardy
This deciduous shrub has oval, mid-green leaves and produces small, creamy-white flowers in May and June. But it's really grown for the brilliant, flame-coloured stems that are revealed when the leaves, which turn orange-yellow in autumn, fall. This fabulous dogwood looks best planted in groups in damp areas of the garden, beside water, or in a winter border. One of our recommended plants, it's best in full sun, and works particularly well with red or purple-stemmed varieties of dogwood.
Garden care: For best stem colour, leave the plant unpruned for the first year after planting, but then cut the stems back hard (to within 5-7cm) from the ground before the buds break in March. Apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted garden compost or horse manure around the base of the plant.
Having seen the beautiful winter combination of this shrub with Betula utilis var. jacquemontii at Wisley in their winter garden I bought both (3 cornus and 2 betula) for a new garden bed I was creating. A year on all are looking healthy and the cornus is showing signs of promise of its future winter colour, although all are still quite small. Overall I am very pleased.
Kentish gardener
Canterbury Kent
Small but attractive cornus
4
Part of re-designed front garden with bergenia and short grasses. Still quite short but good autumn colour and looking forward to winter stems
Mrs K
Aylesbury
Small in size, but have grown well in first season
4
We purchased nine of these as contrasting plants for the winter. They were rather small in size when they arrived, however have grown well in the first season. One of the plants suffered with pests, but has not died off and is a little smaller that the remainder. We are now in November, and the foliage and stems are contrasting well with the evergreens elsewhere in the border. With hindsight I might have purchased some larger plants, but I'm not unhappy with these.
wrightreds
Surrey
Good plant well presented and easy to collect
5
I use this plant to fill a gap that needs the bright stems to give me colour in the winter months.
Bob the gardener
Hampshire
Excellent small shrub. Good in pot on patio in shade.
5
Compact small shrub with all year round purple leaves and unusual pink flowers in spring. Prefers acidic soil.
Bob the gardener
FLEET HANTS
Beautiful Healthy Plants
5
In the past I have bought Cornus alba Sibirica, which I love but I thought I'd try Midwinter Fire this time. It has not disappointed. The autumn leaf colour is gorgeous and the stems really light up the garden on a cold autumn or winter day. I always sprinkle Rootgrow on the roots of shrubs and trees, use John Innes No 3 and water well in the first year. All my Cornus are thriving, with no other care or attention apart from the annual mulch I apply to the whole garden, which is chalky. I leave them alone for the first year, then cut them right back in early spring to control the size and for lots of stunning winter colour. Thank you Crocus for the lovely strong, healthy plants.
Jenster
Chesham
excellent app and quality
5
decorticating
jed
west cornwall
Fabulous plants
5
Looks wonderful on the edge of a woodland area
through the garden gate
dorset
Looks good
4
Bought several and they arrived in top notch condition. I wanted them for a particular area, to brighten it up. Unfortunately I don't think the soil was suitable, some have thrived and really are superb but a couple have died. My fault entirely.
Bailey
SEast
Lovely colour but slow-growing
4
I planted this in spring 2018, but it took a long time to get established and didn't grow at nearly the same rate as my other dogwoods. This may have been due to the heatwave we experienced in the South, pretty much form April through to October, but then my other dogwoods grew just fine so perhaps not. I did find out later that some gardeners recommend not pruning this species in its first year or two, so maybe that was my mistake. Don't think was listed as an instruction though. Would be good to know if this is a valid tip or not. Great colors though and hopefully it will grow a bit taller this year to give the fantastic winder display I was hoping for!
Young gardener
Hampshire
Cornus sanguinea Midwinter Fire
4.522
100.0
I live on acidic and sandy soil which I think is unsuited to Cornus? Can I grown in large pots? How best do I maintain in pots? Thanks
Felsham
Hello there
Cornus can grow in most fertile soils including acidic, so you don't need to grow it in a pot.
Hope this helps
I am moving house and I want to take my Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire' with me. It is about 3 years old. What is the best way to transplant it? I will be moving in November.
sweetpea
Hello,
The best time to lift it is when it is completely dormant, and you will need to dig up as much of the rootball as you possibly can. You can then pot it up into a large pot to move it to its new home, but do make sure it is kept well watered until it is happily re-established.
Helen
I have just purchased a midwinter fire, 2 litre pot. The pruning advise suggests cutting back hard to within 2-3 ins. The plant doesn't look very big at the moment lots of thin twigs coming at all angles. So can you tell me if I should prune this first year of receiving the plant and if so do I prune all branches even the ones below 2/3 ins in height that come out of the side of the plant. There were no instructions in with the plant and I don't want to do the wrong thing. Thank you.
sweetpea
Hello there
No I wouldn't prune for a couple of years. I would let it get established before you prune it back hard.
Hope this helps
When please is the best time to plant? I should like to buy some now late December but do not want to spoil their chances of survival by doing so at the wrong time of year.
Many thanks. Michael Smith
Master
Hello,
These plants are fully hardy, so they can be planted at any time of the year provided the ground is not frozen.
helen
can I move a large 3year old mid winter fire cornus, and can it be divided? Cornus grow well in our Wealden clay.
plantaholic
Hello,
It is possible to move any plant successfully, provide you dig up a good-sized rootball, but this plant cannot be divided.
helen
Can the cornus snaguinea midwinter fire be planted in pots as i am looking for a varity of plants to grow in pots in my patio garden.
Novice gardener
Hello,
Provided the pot is large enough and you make sure the plants are kept well fed and watered, then yes, they will grow quite well in pots.
helen
Hello Crocus,
I've just recently bought a Cornus Saguinea 'Midwinter Fire' (2 litre pot) and wondered how fast and how big the plant will grow? The growing chart indicates a growth of 0.8m*1.5m which is fine but I wondered if it would grow like wild grass or bamboo and take over the surrounding area. If there is a chance that it would, would it be an idea to plant it in the pot, in the ground. Would this be successful and how would I go about doing it if it was to be done?
Thanks
Roy
Roy
Hello there
It is very difficult to say how fast a particular plant will grow as this will be determined by a number of external factors such as the available water, light and nutrients as well as aspect and soil type. They are often grown in damp areas of the garden or alongside water where if the soil is damp it can grow to approx 1.5 x .80cm. It is a robust shrub and it can spread by suckering, but you can control the growth by pruning, infact you will get the best stem colour by cutting it back hard ,within 5-7cm (2-3in) from the ground in March and growing in full sun.
Hope this helps
Georgina
Creating a Winter Garden
Dear Crocus I am wanting to create a " winter garden " area and fancy an Acer griseum as the central feature. I had thought of planting a Cornus Midwinter Fire and Bergenia 'Bressingham Ruby' to complement the scheme but I would welcome any other suggestions please. Many thanks Claire
CLAIRE LAWTON
Hello Claire, If you click on the following link it will take you to all our winter flowering plants. I would definitely recommend hellebores and snowdrops, perhaps some Cyclamen and and Euonymus fortunei for foliage colour. http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/vid.204/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor
Crocus Helpdesk
Specimen Ceanothus or another large bushy shrub....
Good afternoon, When I was first looking for a Ceanothus to replace the one we have in our front garden, I looked on your website, but you only had small ones. Our once lovely Ceanothus has been pruned out of all recognition again this year, as I planted it a bit too near our boundary when it was a baby. I know it may come back, but it is getting ridiculous as every time it grows back it has to be cut back again severely and then ooks a mess for most of the year. Have you got a nice, tall, bushy Ceanothus to replace it? I love my Ceanothus but perhaps if you don't have a big one, do you have another large, flowering shrub as an alternative? Hope you can help Regards Margaret
D DRAKETT
Hello Margaret, it is rare to find larger sized Ceanothus as they are usually quite short-lived and don't normally live longer than 6 - 8 years. We do have a selection of larger shrubs on our site like Hamamelis, Hydrangeas, Magnolias, Acer, Cornus, Cotinus, Philadelphus, Syringa and Viburnum, so you may find something of interest. They will be listed in this section. http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor
Crocus Helpdesk
Which plants are Deer proof?
I want a list of Deer proof plants please. It`s either a change in habitat or environment, but I get total devastation now and in the last two years they come up the drive.
david
Deer can be a real problem and deer proof plants are usually thorny, poisonous or simply taste awful, but it is hard to give a definitive list as you might get the odd deer with unusual tastes which might like the bitter taste! Below is a list of good plants that generally are quite successful though. Cornus varieties, Rhus, Sophora, Solanum, Berberis, Rosemary, Buxus, Cotoneaster, Ilex, Pyracantha, Garrya, Juniperus, Nandina, Elaeagnus, Aralia, Aucuba, Cortaderia, Yucca, Santolina, Hypericum, Myrtle, Vinca, Achillea, Digitalis, Echinacea and Dryopteris. Finally, fencing is one method to protect garden crops from deer. Since deer jump, you need an 8-foot fence for best results or stout chicken-wire fencing securely around smaller garden plots. Alternatively, fence the area with a thorny shrub, preferably something that will grow to at least 6 feet. Deer eat roses and some thorns but hawthorn, boxwood and holly will exclude them. Deer are also deterred by dogs, hanging aluminum foil, mirrors, wood that hits objects in the wind and other noise-makers. Some old-fashioned repellents are human hair and blood and bonemeal. Hanging bars of fragrant deodorant soap from branches may work. Other well-known deer repellents are mothballs or moth flakes spread on the ground or put in mesh bags for hanging in a tree. Unfortunately though, no repellent is 100 percent effective, especially if the deer population is high and deer are starving.
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