dd, the good foliage you see is in full sun next to heat of a sidewalk. they don't like real dry as we found when we lost a number to 'square peg/round hole stubbornness disease'in our dry shade area. best, mindy ******for those of you who want more info and photos, i strongly suggest you post your requests on the GW shrub forum. Also, it's easy to see catalogue photos of a huge variety of woodies, w/ accurate descriptions, on the encyclopedic forestfarm site.********* Here is a link that might be useful: forestfarm, the most encyclopedic U.S. nursery catalogue for woody plants

I'm new to this garden website/forum....it is April 19, 2008...the postings I'm reading are 2 years old!...I just picked up 6 redtwigs this morning for barely $5.00 each...last year's inventory at the garden center...they are at least 24 inches, maybe 1 or 2 are closer to 30+....I gave them all a good drink...will work on getting them in the ground this coming week while on vacation. I think they are all of the same variety...the tags all say, Elegant...2 have no tags!...twigs appear fairly young, they are thin and a burgundy color!....But to the kind gentleman who was giving away 3 free cuttings nearly 2 years ago...or to anyone else, are there any free offers available this spring? Thanks to everyone for such useful information...it was this forum that convinced me that the redtwigs would be perfect for my garden needs...a colorful living "boundary" between my front yard and the road..no sidewalks...country road...with neighbors and their dogs walking by...on my lawn...!...I am most anxious to get these babies in the ground and have them start growing....thanks again....Eileen

Yes, I see that. We don't have trouble growing new sets of stems here though, even though our growing season is much shorter than yours. I think it's just down to regional differences in practices-here young, well-colored stems being deemed worth retaining, there, evidently not. Two ways to get to aprox. the same place. For what it's worth, this plant-Cornus stolonifera-is easily our most common in shrub-carr plant communities. It does better here, in heavier soils underlain by limestone (dolomite) than areas to the north, south, or west, having sandier, loamier, more acidic, etc. soil types. IOW's right at home. Before much development took place, the area just to the south of this city-between another small city, the two cities now running right against each other-was a sea of red in the winter, right to the horizon. Nearly all of that is gone now, just since the 1980's. But volunteer plants are still utterly commonplace in any area not under steady human control. I work in stormwater management, dealing with vegetation issues in and around our many ponds, channels, etc. We use this plant as a routine matter where shrubs are the choice, for banks, wet areas, etc. Often, no planting is required. +oM

so my plan is to (after chemically treating them again next year) ==>>> i dont understand this comment ... if you treated them at cutting down ... there shouldnt be a need to retreat ... though you might get a very few rogue sprouts ... i guess i am concerned about how you plan on using the killer.. and why its a primary function of the rest of the project ... and dont get me wrong... i have no objection to using such ... also.. just for something to talk about.. why a container bed there??? .... and if it were me... i would deal with that piece of fence ... if its yours ... it would be much easier to paint or remove it.. before you build something in front of it ... welcome to the forums ... come back often ... winter is a great time to plan and talk about next spring/summers projects ... ken