Christmas lights are starting to appear in streets, shops and boutiques are decked out in thousands of lights and you may find yourself humming carols without meaning to. No doubt, Christmas is approaching! Time to think about decorating your interior, not forgetting traditional Christmas tree. Yes… but for various reasons (want of change, small living room, young child, climbing cat and tree‑slaying tendencies) you might fancy something other than classic Nordmann fir or spruce. What if this year we made a Christmas tree from dogwood? Graphic and original with its coloured wood, it will bring a playful touch to your interior without cutting down any tree.
Discover our tutorial to make a dogwood Christmas tree.
1- Which dogwood variety to choose?
Dogwood has it all! It provides graphic form and originality, all without losing needles. Moreover, no bush dies during this operation, as it is simply pruning, encouraging growth of new coloured shoots for coming year. Cornus tolerate cutting well. This is therefore an ecological operation, and also economical! Varieties with coloured wood — yellow, orange, red or purple — will bring cheer, while remaining in warm tones, notably red shades, Christmas's signature colour. Here are some examples :

Cornus alba Baton Rouge - Red Dogwood
- Flowering time June, July
- Height at maturity 1,75 m

Cornus sericea Cardinal - Stoloniferous Dogwood
- Flowering time June, July
- Height at maturity 2,50 m

Cornus stolonifera Flaviramea - Stoloniferous Dogwood
- Flowering time June, July
- Height at maturity 2 m

Cornus sanguinea Annys Winter Orange - Common Dogwood
- Flowering time June, July
- Height at maturity 2 m

Cornus alba Siberian Pearls - White Dogwood
- Flowering time June, July
- Height at maturity 2 m

Common Dogwood - Cornus sanguinea
- Flowering time June, July
- Height at maturity 2 m
→ Find other coloured-wood dogwood varieties
2- What do I need?
- Dogwood with coloured wood
- Pruning shear for cutting branches
- Large container for branches, such as a vase or pot (Christmas tree stand also works)
- Christmas decorations: baubles, garlands, pine cones, berries from hips, from Cotoneaster lacteus, holly, etc.
- Facultative: string of lights
3- How to make a dogwood Christmas tree?
1- Arm yourself with your pruning shear cleaned beforehand (to avoid transmission of diseases between plants), then select nice branches on your dogwood;
2- Cut the branch above a bud. This will allow the plant to branch;
3- Place your branch(es) in a large container, such as a vase or large pot;
Tip: To keep branches steady so they do not move, and to add weight to the pot, I slipped pine cones into the vase. You can also use pretty pebbles, Christmas baubles (avoid glass ones) and even bark mulch.
4- Then comes children’s favourite moment (and mine too): decoration! Adorn the beautiful shoots with fairy lights, baubles and other joyful decorations. All that remains is to admire your original (and ecological) Christmas tree!
4- Tips and advice:
- You can also decorate your tree with natural elements, such as pine cones or small berries, plentiful in garden at this season: cotoneaster, hips and even ornamental apples. Take care that young children do not swallow them.
- You can also make small decorations with family, for example orange‑bark hangings and wool pom‑poms.
- We recommend taking one branch out of every three from Cornus, to always keep plenty of beautifully coloured and decorative shoots in garden during winter.
- Once festive season ends, you can compost branches by cutting them into small pieces, or keep them to create an Easter tree in spring.
For more
- Discover our range of coloured-wood dogwoods.
- Find Olivier's advice in a video on pruning Cornus with decorative wood :
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