Silky Dogwood
Cornus amomum
A shrub for the water's edge: white spring flowers, blue-black berries for migrating birds, reddish-purple winter stems. Knits stream banks together.
Typically 1 quart–3 gal · $17–$85 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
The right plant for wet spots and stream banks, with spring flowers for pollinators, summer berries for birds, and glowing winter stems.
Silky dogwood thrives at the water's edge: along streams, pond banks, and in seasonally flooded low spots where few shrubs can compete. In spring, flat-topped clusters of creamy white flowers open and attract a steady stream of native bees and butterflies. By late summer, the flowers have ripened into clusters of blue-black berries that migrating birds strip almost as fast as they appear. The stems show a beautiful reddish-purple color through winter, especially on young growth, which lights up in low winter sun. It spreads by root suckers to form thickets that stabilize stream banks and filter runoff, exactly what riparian edges need.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown silky dogwood propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 5–10 ft · 6–10 ft wide
- Bloom time
- Spring
- Bloom color
- White
- USDA zones
- 4–8
- Family
- Cornaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America
Care notes for silky dogwood.
Full sun to part shade in moist to wet soil. One of the most flood-tolerant native shrubs available. Coppice (cut back hard every 2–3 years) to produce the most vivid winter stem color. Spreads by suckers. excellent for naturalizing but set boundaries if needed. No serious pests.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside silky dogwood.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.