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| Winter branch color |
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| Summer foliage |
If you are looking for a “four seasons” plant to add to your landscape, a good suggestion would be dogwood bushes that feature colored branches.
Dogwood bushes are very hardy for the Colorado climate and relatively easy care with few pests or problems. They provide green leaves and white flowers in the spring, the flowers turn to blue color berries which birds enjoy and then in the fall, the leaves drop to reveal the colorful branches.
The two dogwood that we have planted in our yard are Cornus sericea ‘Cardinal’ for the red and Cornus stolonifera ‘Flaviranea’ for the yellow variety. These bushes can grow to 3 – 5’ tall shrubs and can become very full which work well for use as hedges but ample room should be allowed when planning their location so that they don’t block sidewalks and driveways.
The bright stems give a nice pop of color especially when contrasted against snow when often other trees and shrubs have neutral tones for their trunks and stems.
They are not a high maintenance plant and require simple pruning and removal of any dead wood after the winter is over. The foliage, flowers, berries and color of the stems in the winter makes it a valued landscape plant to be enjoyed each season.
For more information, refer to the following fact sheets: