Family: Cornaceae

Origin: California

Type: Deciduous shrub

Size: 12 ft. high and wide.

Flowers: Creamy white flowers in 2 in. clusters summer into fall. Leaves 1.5  to 2.5  in. long, light green. Leaves turn brilliant red in fall, and stems red in winter.

Uses: Screen, filler, showy specimen, color in heat. Tolerates salt spray. Fire resistive. 

Wildlife: Butterfly larvae.

Soil: Tolerates a variety.

Water: Medium; warmer inland valleys more.

Sun: Full sun to some shade.

Pruning: Needs pruning to keep looking neat. Prune branches that touch ground; roots that stray. Cut to base one-third of oldest stems each year.

Pests & Diseases: Scale, leaf spot, stem canker.

Notes: Spreads by underground stems and rooting branches. Grows throughout California and north to Alaska; in coldest mountains as well. Hardy to 0° F.