Cornus Sgt. Pepper™ Dogwood

Bronze Award KVBC Summer Challenge 2021

A Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Flowering Shrubs variety, Cornus Sgt. Pepper™ is a multistemmed deciduous shrub grown for its pretty form and ever-changing foliage color. Its green and white variegated leaves emerge with pink tones, which fade with the onset of summer but return at summer's end, as the white leaf margins become bright pink and stems turn deep red in autumn. Flat-topped clusters of small flowers bloom in spring, giving way to white drupes (berries), which ripen midsummer. The flowers are nice additions to floral arrangements, and the drupes are a tasty treat for songbirds.

A Cornus alba species, commonly called dogwood, red-barked dogwood, white dogwood, or Tatarian dogwood, Sgt. Pepper has a moderate to vigorous growth rate and a broad, upright, spreading habit. Shown to best effect when grouped or massed, dogwood shrubs are perfect for mixed beds and hedges. But they also make great specimen plants.

Cold Hardy, durable, and easy to grow, dogwood shrubs grow best in partly sunny to partly shady locations with organically rich, consistently moist, well-draining soil but are tolerant of a wide range of soils, including alkaline and clay soils. The plant is drought tolerant and deer resistant.