Plant · P-1023

Roughleaf Dogwood

Cornus drummondii

Roughleaf dogwood is a fast-growing, thicket-forming shrub named for its sandpapery leaves, equally at home on a dry limestone hill or a stream bank. Its long spring-to-summer bloom feeds native bees and many butterfly species, and the white berries that follow feed birds all through fall - Bell's vireo nests in the tangle of stems rather than just visiting for the fruit. It spreads by root suckers into a dense colony, which is exactly what makes it good at holding a bank or pond margin against erosion, but it needs a mowed or grazed edge to keep it from running further than wanted. It tolerates almost any soil, from heavy clay to limestone, and shrugs off both hard cold and long dry spells once established.