Cornus alternifolia Pinky Spot Minpinky - Pagoda Dogwood

Cornus alternifolia Pinky Spot 'Minpinky' is a beautiful variety of pagoda dogwood selected for its beautiful variegated foliage and vigorous growth. It quickly forms a bushy shrub with a graceful habit, with red horizontal branches and stunning tricoloured foliage in spring. Throughout the seasons, the foliage takes on fantastic shades. Its summer flowering is attractive to bees and is followed by purple berries that birds love. Give it a prominent place in a small garden or at the front of a large shrub border!

Cornus alternifolia Pinky Spot belongs to the Cornaceae family. It is native to the eastern United States and Canada, ranging from western Newfoundland to southern Manitoba and Minnesota, and from the southern to northern regions of Florida and Mississippi. It can be found growing under deciduous trees, on forest edges, and near swamps, thriving in harsh and contrasting climates that demonstrate its robustness.

The cultivar Pinky Spot was selected in 2007 by Minier Nurseries. The shrub has a bushy habit and well-branched structure from the base. It will reach about 3.50 metres (11 feet) in height, with a spread of 3 metres (10 feet), sometimes more depending on the growing conditions. Its growth rate is quite fast. The deciduous foliage emerges variegated in green, pink, and white in spring, turns green in summer, and becomes marginate with violet before leaf fall. The leaves are entire, distinctly veined and undulate, measuring approximately 8 to 10cm (3 to 4in) in length. Its flowering is quite discreet, with small cream-white flowers arranged in clusters measuring 10 to 15cm (4 to 6in) in diameter, fragrant and attractive to bees. It is followed by a fruiting of blue-black berries on red stems, containing oily seeds. These fruits turn purplish when ripe and are highly appreciated by songbirds.

No matter the size or style of the garden, there will always be a dogwood to provide a beautiful decoration. The Pinky Spot dogwood offers a constantly changing spectacle throughout the year, deserving to be planted in isolation. It will create beautiful autumn borders, mixed hedges with witch hazels or Japanese maples in acidic soil, or on the edge of woodland areas in the company of Hydrangea quercifolia or winged Euonymus in neutral soil. All these shrubs are perfect for creating a transition with the countryside. As it thrives near water, it can be planted alongside Cornus stolonifera 'Flaviramea' with yellow bark, behind a foreground of Astilbes, not far from a pond.