PlantSowGrow
How to plant and care for Dogwood (Midwinter Fire)
Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire'
🌸 Flower
🔁 Perennial
Leafless winter stems that glow orange, yellow and red like flames — magical in low winter sun. Cut back every spring for the best colour.
When to plant and care for it
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Flowers
Prune
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Dogwood (Midwinter Fire): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water well for the first summer, then in dry spells
- Soil
- Any soil, even damp
- Spacing
- 1.2 m
- Height
- 1.5 m
- In pots
- Only in large containers
- Feeding
- Balanced feed in spring
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 4–8
Step by step
- On planting day
Plant
Plant at the same depth as it was in its pot, 1.2 m apart, and firm in.
- 0–1 days after “Plant”
Water In Well
Give a full can of water, then keep moist for the first few weeks while roots establish.
- 7–14 days after “Water In Well”
Mulch Around the Base
Spread 5 cm of compost or bark around the plant, keeping it off the stems.
Every year
- JanuaryWinter Stems
Fiery stems at their best — take a photo.
- MarchHard Prune (Coppice)
Cut all the stems down to 5–10 cm above the ground (or a third of them each year) to get bright new stems.
Starts from year 2.
- OctoberAutumn Colour
Orange autumn leaves.
