Plant name: ‘Midwinter Fire’ dogwood, bloodtwig dogwood

Botanical name: Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’

Virtues: Its bare bright red stems add great color to the winter landscape.

Foliage: Medium green in summer; orange and yellow in fall.

Flowers: Small, white, appearing in late spring.

Habit: Multistemmed shrub. Can be thinned and pruned to a small rounded tree form.

Season: All seasons, especially winter.

Cultivation: Undemanding. Thrives in full sun to part shade. Tolerates a variety of soils. Benefits from periodic supplemental watering in summer. Cut some stems back to 12 inches in early spring to ensure maximum winter color—new growth is more colorful than old. USDA Zones 5–7.

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Image courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder