Cornus canadensis

Cornus canadensis: A Dogwood Small Enough to Step Over

Bunchberry is a dogwood that got shrunk in the wash. White flowers, bright red berries and burgundy fall leaves, all crammed into a native groundcover small enough to hide under your boots. TINY TREE ENERGY.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Cornus canadensis
• Common Name: Bunchberry
• Height: 10–20 cm (4–8 in)
• Spread: 30 cm (12 in) or more, spreading slowly by underground stems
• Flowers: Four white petal-like bracts around a cluster of tiny greenish flowers, each "bloom" about 2.5–4 cm (1–1.5 in) across
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Whorls of four to six oval green leaves, turning reddish purple to burgundy in fall. Clusters of bright red berries ripen in late summer.
• Features: Berries feed birds, rabbit resistant

Where to Plant: Bunchberry belongs on a cool, shady woodland floor, along a shaded path or tucked between rocks. It's at its best where summers stay cool and the soil is acidic and full of leaf litter. Planted from a tray, it slowly knits into a low carpet, but it won't take foot traffic, so keep it off the main route.

Companion Plants: Let bunchberry carpet a cool, moist, shady native bed with acidic, leafy soil. Trillium erectum opens maroon-red flowers at 20 to 40 cm in April and May. Tiarella cordifolia adds starry white foamflower spikes at 15 to 30 cm in May and June. Dryopteris marginalis brings leathery, blue-green evergreen fronds at 45 to 60 cm. Carex grayi adds glossy blades at 60 to 90 cm with spiky, mace-like seed heads.

Plant Care: Plant in part to full shade in moist, well-drained, acidic soil rich in organic matter. Conifer needles, shredded leaves or composted bark make a good mulch. Keep it evenly moist, especially in the first year. Hot, dry sites and alkaline soil are the main reasons it fails. Bunchberry establishes slowly, so be patient for the first season or two. Space plants about 15–20 cm (6–8 in) apart for faster cover. There's no need to cut it back. Let the leaves stay where they fall, since they feed the soil.

History: Bunchberry grows across Canada and the northern United States from coast to coast, and in Quebec it's known as quatre-temps. Researchers have found that its flowers open explosively, flinging pollen into the air in less than a millisecond, which is among the fastest movements recorded in plants.

Final Thoughts: Birds love the berries, deer and rabbits skip the leaves, and it carpets cool shade. PLANT A PATCH, OWN A FOREST.