Cornus alba BATON ROUGE 'Minbat'

About this cultivar:

Cornus alba BATON ROUGE 'Minbat' is a fine decorative cultivarfirst introduced in 2012. Selected for its bright red stems as well as its rare combination of compact habit and vigorous growth, it is one of the best cultivars for four-season interest. In the spring, the blood red stems emerge and leaf out, followed by small white flowers and then berries in the summer. In autumn, the leaves take on a purply-pink tone, and in the winter the bright red stems stand like warm red spires in stark contrast to the pale wintry surroundings. If you feel like it why not cut a few of the red stems for a Christmas display? (note: i need a better photo of this one to do it justice)

• Position: Full sun, partial shade
• Soil: Almost any soil, grows well in Ballyrobert
• Flowers: May, June
• Other features: Grows well in Ballyrobert, Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (RHS AGM)
• Hardiness: Fully hardy - grows well in Ballyrobert!
• Habit: Suckering
• Foliage: Deciduous
• Height: 90 - 120 cm (3 - 4 ft)
• Spread: 90 - 120 cm (3 - 4 ft)
• Time to full growth: 5 to 10 years
• Plant type: Shrub
• Colour: Red, green
• Goes well with: Grasses such as Miscanthus and Calamagrostis. But anything really. Other Cornus also go well with this one.
  

About this genus:

Cornus is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the dogwood family (Cornaceae). The species vary enormously! Most are deciduous trees or shrubs, but a few species are nearly herbaceous perennial subshrubs, and a few of the woody species are evergreen. The various species of dogwood are native throughout much of the temperate North.

Cornus are well known to gardeners. The poet Virgil makes reference to a haunted copse of cornel in Book III of the Aeneid. They were also known to Geoffrey Chaucer, who calls them "whippletree" in The Canterbury Tales. The name "dog-tree" entered the English vocabulary before 1548, becoming "dogwood" by 1614. One theory is that "dogwood" was derived from the Old English dagwood, from the use of the slender stems of its very hard wood for making "dags" (daggers, skewers, and arrows). More recently in the Victorian Era, flowers or sprigs of dogwood were presented to unmarried women by male suitors to signify affection! 

Apart from daggers and dating it appears Dogwood has been used throughout time and throughout the world for almost anything - from toothbrushes to tennis rackets, from fermented fruit to curing colds. Perhaps the stems could  be used instead of fiber optic broadband? We'll stick to using it in our garden for now.

Cornus are almost ubiquitous in gardens, and not just here; horticulturist Donald Wyman stated, "There is a dogwood for almost every part of the U.S. except the hottest and driest areas". But with good reason - they grow almost anywhere,are beautiful in every season, and cultivars are available in almost every in height, colour and shape, 

In our garden at Ballyrobert we are probably guilty of over-using Cornus (if that  is possible). It is a good idea to think about where your light shines in the colder months so you can really appreciate their colourful stems. Most books will tell you to plant them with grasses such as Miscanthus and Calamagrostis - and we do that . But we also plant them beside Geranium, other Cornus and Euonymus. We had even stuck a few Galanthus (snowdrops) beneath the 'flame' cultivars. I just had an idea to put bright red/orange/yellow bulbs at the bottom of them too - watch this space!