Cornus Alba Baton Rouge Dogwood

Cornus Alba Baton Rouge is a deciduous red-stemmed Asian dogwood with flat white flowerheads in summer. It’s a good choice for low-maintenance woodland gardens and spaces in need of winter colour.

Cornus Alba is native to Asia where it grows in a variety of woodlands and thickets. These hardy suckering shrubs are often called Red-Barked Dogwoods for their slim and showy red branches that spend summer blood red and mature to bright crimson during autumn and winter. The cultivar Red Baton is no exception. It has bright crimson branches year-round that intensify during winter. It’s an established favourite and a must for dogwood lovers.

In spring, new bright green ovate foliage unfurls and is joined by flat heads of small cream flowers in summer. Its flowers mature to deep purple berries at summer’s end as the foliage turns shades of plum and purple in autumn.

Cornus Alba Baton Rouge is synonymous with Dogwood Minbat and Cornus alba Minbat, but whatever you choose to call it, this is a high-impact, low-maintenance shrub that suits the majority of garden styles and containers.

Height And Spread of Cornus Alba Baton Rouge
Dogwood Baton Rouge is a mid-sized red dogwood that reaches a maximum height and spread of 1.5 to 2.5 metres over 10 years.

How Hardy Is Cornus Alba Baton Rouge
This is a hardy shrub in UK winters if its roots are well drained. It’s drought tolerant and pests are rarely a problem.

How To Use Cornus Alba Baton Rouge
Red-stemmed dogwoods suit Japanese gardens, woodland gardens, and low-maintenance wildlife-friendly spaces because it holds the RHS Plants for pollinators badge for its bee-magnet white flowerheads.
This is a versatile shrub that brings year-round interest to the garden with its bright green foliage in spring and crimson red stems during winter. You can grow Dogwood Baton Rouge in a large well-watered and fed container on a patio deck or balcony to add interest and attract pollinators too.

How To Care For Cornus Alba Baton Rouge
Dogwood Red Baton is a no-fuss easy-to-grow shrub that suits any type of well-drained fertile soil and enjoys both full sun and partial shade. It can tolerate chalky soil and exposed spots.
You can leave this red dogwood to its own devices, or for the best ornamental colour in winter cut back all the old stems in early spring. It will regrow bright new stems that outshine the older branches. Mulch it well in spring with rotted organic matter and water well until it is established. Be sure to raise containers up on feet to enable good drainage.