By HELENRUTH SCHUETTE, Beltrami County Master Gardener
Winter hardy, insect and disease resistant, with delightful ornamental qualities-sounds like the perfect plant for my garden, especially since it thrives and glows in the shade where most of my gardening is done. This remarkable shrub is Garden Glow (Cornus hessei), a newly developed dogwood developed by the University of Minnesota.
Most plants with brightly colored or variegated foliage require full sun for optimal performance. This is also true for dogwood shrubs, which usually thrive and exhibit their most intense foliage colors in full sunlight. But the Garden Glow is ideally suited for low-light situations in the garden. It will add brightness and a luminous glow to shade.
Garden Glow not only makes shaded areas glow, it adds color all year round. Lush chartreuse to golden-yellow-green foliage covers the plant in spring and summer. White summer flowers are followed by white to pale blue berries. In mild, extended falls, leaves turn an attractive rosy red to burgundy color. Red stems and twigs add eye appealing color to the landscape throughout the winter.
The leaflet I read about this cultivar goes on to say it is not recommended for full or afternoon sun because the golden leaves tend to burn or bleach under high light conditions. This dogwood will tolerate heavy shade, but foliage color turns a darker green. Dappled, light shade, or full morning sun followed by afternoon shade, will produce the brightest, glowing, yellow-green colored foliage.
Garden Glow grows slower than most dogwood cultivars. Mature shrubs are typically 5-6 feet tall and wide but can be maintained at a smaller size by cutting plants back in early spring. The multi-stemmed, irregularly rounded form provides a natural and somewhat informal appearance. Smaller size and pleasing shape make it very manageable and attractive for residential landscapes.
Garden Glow is a result of the U of M’s woody plant research efforts. Since its selection in 1988, Garden Glow has been extensively evaluated under a range of growing conditions. It is adaptable to a range of soil conditions and is very cold hardy. In controlled laboratory freezing tests, Garden Glow withstood –47 degrees F without injury in midwinter.
I called two of Bemidji area garden centers and they are currently not carrying this shrub. Look for it in the next 1-2 years in our garden centers. I plan to use this delightful looking shrub in my shade garden. To learn more about the U of M’s expertise and wide range of cold hard varieties, including other dogwoods, please visit www.maes.umn.edu/MNHardy/ [1]
For further information on home horticulture topics, please seek out the University of Minnesota Extension Web site, www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden [2] or call one of your local master gardeners. These articles are now available weekly and will be archived on the Beltrami County section of the following Web site: www.extension.umn.edu/beltrami/mg or by going to the Beltrami County Web site at www.co.beltrami.mn.us/ [3], click on departments, then Extension Service, then click on Master Gardener two times.