Alternate-Leaved Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) is a Michigan Native plant available at Wild Cherry Farm
Alternate-Leaved Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) is a Michigan Native plant available at Wild Cherry Farm

Alternate-Leaved Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)

$15.00

Alternate-Leaved Dogwood, aka Pagoda Dogwood, is such a great landscape plant for wildlife. Not only does it host the Spring Azure and 121 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org) (illinoiswildflower.info), but it is also the host to four specialist bees (Xerces.org). But that’s not all, the berries are a popular food source for many birds (Bird Table) and it has nice fall colors (illinoiswildflower.info). Deer also like to munch on this shrub, so protect it until it is able to fend for itself!

Photo credit: Dave Lage

Alternate-Leaved Dogwood, aka Pagoda Dogwood, is such a great landscape plant for wildlife. Not only does it host the Spring Azure and 121 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org) (illinoiswildflower.info), but it is also the host to four specialist bees (Xerces.org). But that’s not all, the berries are a popular food source for many birds (Bird Table) and it has nice fall colors (illinoiswildflower.info). Deer also like to munch on this shrub, so protect it until it is able to fend for itself!

Photo credit: Dave Lage

Life Cycle: Perennial

Sun Exposure: Sun-Partial-Shade

Soil Moisture: Medium/wet - Medium/dry

Height: 9 to 25 feet

Plant Spacing: 6-12 feet

Bloom Time: May-July

Bloom Color: White

Advantages: Caterpillar Favorite, Bird Favorite, Pollinator Favorite, Great Landscape Plant.

Host Plant: Possibly the Spring Azure and 121 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org) (illinoiswildflower.info)

Specialist Bee: Fragile Dogwood Mining Bee (Andrena fragilis) Short-haired Dogwood Mining Bee (Andrena integra), Plated Miner Bee (Andrena platyparia), and A. persimulata (Holm, 2017) (Johnson and Colla, 2023)

(illinoiswildflower.info)

Resources: Holm, Heather. Bees: An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide. Pollination Press, 2017

Resource: Johnson, Lorraine, and Sheila Colla. A Northern Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators: Creating Habitat in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest. Island Press, 2023

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