Red Osier Dogwood vs Water Arum - TreeTime.ca

Red Osier Dogwood vs Water Arum

Cornus sericea

Calla palustris

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

CUSTOM GROW

Red Osier Dogwood
Water Arum

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.

Water Arum is a native perennial wetland plant known for its showy white oval sheaths (spathe) that surround a yellow-green, cylindrical flower spike (spadix). It has large, oblong, heart-shaped leaves on stems that rise above the water from shallow, spreading rhizomes. The blossoms are followed in late summer by tiny, pear-shaped fruits that ripen to bright red, adding ornamental interest to wet habitats.

Water Arum provides food for birds and small mammals that eat its berries, and its flowers attract pollinators. It can tolerate cold climates and forms colonies in shallow water and saturated soils. It is well-suited for ecological restoration, riparian planting, naturalisation, and habitat projects in wet and shaded environments.

Red Osier Dogwood Quick Facts

Water Arum Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 1b
Height: 2.7 m (9 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: shade, partial shade
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: colony-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - low
Suckering: medium


Toxicity: toxic if ingested
Fall colour: dark red
Bark: dark red, showy
Flowers: white
Flowers: white sheath around and yellow spike
Bloom time: spring to summer
Berries: white waxy
Berries: red, in clusters
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no

In row spacing: 0.9 m (3 ft)

Between row spacing: 5 m (16 ft)
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, PE
Other Names: american dogwood, california dogwood, creek dogwood, dogberry tree, red dogwood, red twig dogwood, redosier dogwood, redstem dogwood, western dogwood
Other Names: bog arum, swamp lily, wild calla, wild dragon