Red Osier Dogwood Brush Layers
Red Osier Dogwood Brush Layers is a beautiful, red, deciduous scrub. This scrub grows medium to large and grows in damp or wet soil. It is a fast growing upright shrub that can grow anywhere from 7 to 10 feet high and wide. Its height can increase to over 24 inches in one year. This attractive plant suited in a landscape that will show off it’s dark red or purplish-red stems. During the late spring and early summer, the red-osier grows yellowish-white flowers. In the late summer, it produces little white berries. The leaves of a red-osier are a medium-green color. They measure anywhere from 2 to 5 inches and are an oblong to orate shape. The red-osier is found attractive to several species of birds (including wild turkey, woodpeckers, and catbird) and butterflies. Many birds are attracted to the berries of the red-osier and often use the plant as shelter. Other wildlife animals, such as deer, rabbits, and chipmunks, are attacked to its twigs and foliage.
Red Osier Dogwood Brush Layers are highly favored, not only because they are versatile, but also because of their hardiness
Even though this plant prefers damp or wet soils, it can also adapt to drier soils. Red Osier Dogwood grows nicely in Hardiness Zones 2-7. Although the scrubs are versatile, they do need at least four hours of full and direct sunlight. They will grow in the shade, but much slower. Also, to keep them in their best shape and to look attractive, they have to be pruned once every year. Red Osiers are not only beautiful for landscaping purposes, but their stems are also commonly used for weaving baskets. Some Indian tribes also used these plants as a way to slow bleeding, cure colds, and as a substitute for tobacco.
