Gray Dogwood vs Falsebox - TreeTime.ca

Gray Dogwood vs Falsebox

Cornus racemosa

Paxistima myrsinites

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Gray Dogwood
Falsebox

Gray dogwood is a thicket-forming, deciduous shrub with greenish-white blossoms in open, terminal clusters. Young twigs are red and the fruit pedicels remain conspicuously red into late fall and early winter.

Fruit itself is a white, 1/4 in. drupe that usually does not remain on the shrub for long.

Great for naturalizing wild areas, this shrub attracts birds and other wildlife.

Falsebox is a hardy, native evergreen shrub found in forests, rocky slopes, and open woodland sites. Though small and easily overlooked among the leaves, the maroon flowers still supply nectar and pollen for pollinators such as native bees and flies. Blooming in spring, they provide an important early-season food source. Its year-round greenery adds visual interest through the winter.

Falsebox is a low-growing shrub that tolerates a wide range of conditions, including drought once established. It thrives particularly well beneath the shade of mature trees, where few other plants succeed. With its resilience and ecological value, Falsebox is well-suited for naturalization, restoration projects, and diverse landscape plantings.

Gray Dogwood Quick Facts

Falsebox Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 5a
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: any
Light: any
Moisture: any
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: slow
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: prostrate to spreading
Spreading: layering - medium
Suckering: medium


Foliage: evergreen, leathery leaves
Fall colour: deep, reddish puple
Bark: reddish-brown
Flowers: small, maroon-purple, fragrant
Bloom time: summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: MB, ON, QC
Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: false box, mountain boxwood, mountain lover, myrtle boxwood, oregon boxleaf, oregon boxwood