Cornus Alba Aurea Golden Dogwood Tree

Cornus Alba Aurea or Golden Dogwood Tree
Cornus Alba Aurea is a gloriously coloured deciduous dogwood with the Royal Horticultural Society’s AGM and their Perfect for Pollinators award. It is a must-have in a garden where all year round colour and structural shape is required. In springtime the Golden Dogwood Tree sprouts golden-yellow ovate leaves which age into a beautiful buttery yellow. These are followed by small white clusters of flowers that are loved by pollinators through May and June, but it’s into autumn and winter that Cornus Alba Aurea comes into its own. As the summer progresses its leaves turn red matching the already red stems and / or bark. These red stems become increasingly exposed into the winter after leaf fall providing bright, strong colour. The sunnier the aspect, the brighter the red stems. 

Golden Dogwood Tree is a medium sized shrub which can be pruned to suit more compact areas. It will reach a maximum of 2.5 metres in height and 2.5 metres in width over the course of 10 years. 

How Hardy is Cornus Alba Aurea?
The Golden Dogwood Tree is one of the toughest plants you can buy because it’s a native of cold climates such as Siberia and northern China. It is an excellent alternative to colourful yet sometimes temperamental Japanese Acers. In spring, Golden Dogwood can be cut down to a few inches in height only to grow back stronger and brighter. This shrub will grow in dry and wet soils so it’s perfect for problem areas.

How To Use Cornus Alba Aurea
If you can plant a Golden Dogwood Tree so that the autumn light shines from behind you’ll be rewarded with fiery red highlights in the cold months. Pair this shrub with its cousin the green-stemmed Cornus stolonifera Flaviramea for a winter display of colour. 

Dogwood grows well as the back of the border or in a feature patch of its own. It makes a great quick growing screening plant and attracts all manner of pollinators and birds.Cornus Alba Aurea will also grow in pots if they are well-watered, which brings the benefits of moving the plant to catch the winter sun. 

How To Care for Cornus Alba Aurea
Little care is required from this top-of-the-range dogwood that will grow in any soil, but you can keep the colour bright by cutting back the new growth in spring and putting a thick, three inch layer of well-rotted manure around its roots before the leaves begin to shoot. 

The RHS awards speak for themselves, but if you need a tough, hardy shrub that looks after itself and brings a riot of colour in the winter you can’t go far wrong with Cornus Alba Aurea.