Common Purple Lilac vs Red Osier Dogwood - TreeTime.ca

Common Purple Lilac vs Red Osier Dogwood

Syringa vulgaris

Cornus sericea

Common Purple Lilac
Red Osier Dogwood

Common Purple Lilac is a popular lilac. This large shrub provides excellent privacy or wind protection in an attractive package.

Lilac flowers are pleasantly fragrant and add a beautiful lavender colour to your property. Common Purple Lilac is cold hardy, easy to grow, and can tolerate most soil types.

Some people alternate villosa and common purple lilacs to create the impression that the hedge is in flower for almost a full month with the common purple flowering about 2 weeks sooner than the Villosa Lilac.

Red Osier Dogwood is a small deciduous shrub that features deep red stems and twigs year-round, with creamy white flowers in the spring. This shrub will add a nice pop of color to your yard.

Red Osier Dogwood is an excellent soil stabilizer. It is fast growing and becomes drought tolerant once well established.

Common Purple Lilac Quick Facts

Red Osier Dogwood Quick Facts

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Zone: 2a
Zone: 2a
Height: 5 m (16 ft)
Height: 2.7 m (9 ft)
Spread: 2.7 m (9 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Suckering: medium
Suckering: medium


Fall colour: dark red
Bark: dark red, showy
Flowers: dark purple, extremely fragrant
Flowers: white
Berries: white waxy
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no

In row spacing: 0.9 m (3 ft)

In row spacing: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Between row spacing: 5 m (16 ft)
Between row spacing: 5 m (16 ft)
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU, PE
Other Names: common lilac, french hybrid lilac, lilac
Other Names: american dogwood, california dogwood, creek dogwood, dogberry tree, red dogwood, red twig dogwood, redosier dogwood, redstem dogwood, western dogwood