Shrubs With Bright Winter Stems

Question: I grow redtwig dogwood and love its bright red stems in winter. Are there other shrubs with bright winter stems?

Redtwig dogwood with sleepy sparrow

Answer: Yes. Just when cold-climate gardeners are desperate for something green, certain shrubs fit the bill. And believe it or not, they're deciduous, not evergreen. Like redtwig dogwood, these shrubs provide interest with their colorful stems.

One such shrub is also a shrubby dogwood, Cornus sericea. Like your redtwig dogwood (C. sanguinea), most cultivars of C. sericea have red stems, but look for 'Flaviramea', a selection with greenish yellow stems, and 'Nitida', one with darker green stems. Full sun, damp soil. Spreads by root suckers; remove these if you don't want a colony to form. USDA Zones 2–8.

'Flaviramea' yellowtwig dogwood has golden stems

Kerria japonica provides a dense screen in winter with its bright green stems that grow straight up then arch over. Grow it in shade or sun and make sure it has good drainage. Zones 4–9.

Kerria japonica's winter stems

On the above plants, young stems are usually the most colorful, so remove oldest stems every other year, in early spring, to encourage new growth.

Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) is a scrambling shrub that can be trained as a vine. It looks wonderful spilling over a gray stone wall in winter. Its slender stems are green, and as a bonus at winter's end they pop with bright yellow flowers. Tolerates poor, dry soil. Flowers best in full sun but tolerates some shade. Zones 6–10.

Winter jasmine has deep green stems, plus very early flowers where winters are mild

Winter jasmine may root wherever its branches touch the ground. Be warned that it grows fast and can become weedy.

Trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata) can succeed as far north as Zone 6, though it will produce fewer flowers and bitter-tasting fruit the farther north it grows. Regardless, this small citrus tree's trunk, branches and thorns make a bright green splash in the winter landscape.