Plant of the Week: Red Rover® Cornus

Fall color Fall is doing its thing - we're right about to peak color in most of Michigan. There's good fall color in much of the rest of the country, too. Check out this interactive map showing a county-by-county foliage rating. This is the weekend to go for a walk in the woods! It's also when people ask why leaves change color. Here's a good explanation to share with them.

Red Rover, Red Rover send Cornus on over! Got a soggy place in the landscape? Want to make the birds and butterflies happy? And you would like a little eye-candy for yourself, too?  You can either hire a good-looking person in waders to hold a birdfeeder or you can try Red Rover® Cornus obliqua. Red Rover® is a compact selection of our native silky dogwood. It's also known as a swamp dogwood, which should clue you in as to how much it likes wet sites. The white spring flowers are popular with pollinators, and birds like the blue fruit in fall. Red Rover is a compact, colorful, valuable native species.  Clean green foliage contrasts nicely with white flowers in the spring and red foliage with blue fall fruit adds autumn interest. Burgundy stems in winter top off its 4-season appeal. The species can get up to 12' tall, but Red Rover® is a more manageable 4-5'. It will grow in full sun or partial shade and is hardy to USDA Zone 4. Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles.