Cornus amomum 'Cayenne' (Silky Redtwig Dogwood)

Cornus amomum 'Cayenne' is a cultivar of silky dogwood, a native open shrub selection that stands out with smooth attrctive stems that add multi season interest; the 'Cayenne' cultivar's stems are even showier and more closely resemble the appearance of redtwig dogwoods. The fresh green foliage looks good all summer and is accented by white flowers in the spring and porcelain blue berries that form in late summer. As temperatures cool down, the green leaves turn orangey-red, adding multi season interest.

While Cornus amomum 'Cayenne' may resemble some redtwig dogwood cultivars with its showy bark, this cultivar is much more shade tolerant than the closely related Cornus sericea. 'Cayenne' typically grows to 6-8' tall and 8-10' wide with an open, suckering habit, making it ideal for dense, naturalized thickets or borders, or for wetland restoration planting. Cornus amomum 'Cayenne' also works great for forest understory planting, since it prefers full to partial shade. Although this silky dogwood prefers medium to wet soils and shade, it also performs great in full sun and perpetually wet soils, and tolerates a wide variety of soil types.