Cornus racemosa-Gray dogwood

Description

Its taken me a few years to get to know our dogwoods, to take the time to study them in their respective habitats, trying to figure out how they earned their namesake, how they compare to each other, and how we can best use them in our built landscapes. Gray dogwood is most often found growing in the woods, in filtered to full shade, compared to pagoda dogwood that can’t quite make up its mind if it wants full sun or full shade. The stems don’t branch out at such a low height like red osier and silky dogwoods do; perhaps due to their shady haunts and the need to reach out towards the light waaaay up in the canopy, and thus earns the superlative of our “lankiest” dogwood. The smooth green bark has a light grayish blush to it, one that can be wiped off with a rub of your finger. The late June-early July blooming flowers are born on upright erect stems. Sometimes growing in bone dry woods, other times found along an intermittent drainage channel, usually associated with loamy and clayey soils. Fruit said to be consumed by at least 100 species of song birds.