Autumnal highlights: how to teach old dogwood new tricks

As part of Westonbirt's activities for families this October, Caroline Bennett from our Learning and Participation Team has created a trail of autumnal highlights which will run from 29 October - 2 November. Here are some of the fascinating facts she has researched...

There are nearly 60 different species of Dogwood, and this one - Cornus alba, has the brightest bark of all of them, as well as attractive autumn leaves.

It is also extremely hardy, being native to Siberia, Northern China and Korea.

To maintain the bright bark of our dogwood, we trim back the stems to the ground every few years which encourages it to grow back with vivid new red stems. If left untrimmed the stems would darken and the dogwood would grown into a small tree.

Can you spot the youngest, bright stems on the dogwood you see at Westonbirt when you visit?

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