Make it one of your winter jobs in the garden as late winter, or in early spring when the first shoots are starting to appear, is the best time. To produce the most twigs and the best colored twigs, prune every year or every second year. Pruning shrubs in the right way makes a huge difference to their effectiveness and also governs the size of the plant, and red twig dogwood are no exception. (Image credit: Future) Pruning red twig dogwood In the autumn, dig them up and plant them promptly in your chosen place.Some, perhaps all, will start to shoot in spring showing that they’re rooting. Do nothing more until spring unless conditions are very dry, when watering will be helpful.
![red twig dogwood hedge red twig dogwood hedge](https://garden.org/pics/2016-09-10/visitor/82eed4.jpg)
When the cuttings are in place, use your foot to press down on the soil and close the slit.
![red twig dogwood hedge red twig dogwood hedge](http://georgeweigel.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/redtwig.snow_.jpg)
Insert the cuttings in the slit 6in (15cm) apart, right way up. In a bright corner of the yard, use your garden spade to make a narrow slit in the soil.If the stem is long enough, repeat the process but discard the fine whippy tips.
![red twig dogwood hedge red twig dogwood hedge](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/fc/30/a4/fc30a4df0738771a937b8e389f544aa6--hedges-red-twig-dogwood.jpg)
Snip just above a leaf joint about 9in (23cm) from the base to form a cutting. At intervals along the stem you’ll see the pairs of small buds opposite each other where the leaves used to be.
![red twig dogwood hedge red twig dogwood hedge](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/bc/fe/24/bcfe2426ad889650f9d2c7515a174447.jpg)
Synonymous with and formerly known as Cornus stolonifera. Red stems somewhat resemble the reddish stems of some osier willows, hence the common name of red osier dogwood. Fruit is quite attractive to birds and is generally considered to have as much if not more ornamental interest than the flowers. Flowers give way to clusters of whitish (sometimes with a bluish tinge) drupes in summer. Tiny, fragrant, white flowers appear in flat-topped clusters (cymes to 2.5” diameter) in late spring, with sparse, intermittent, additional flowering sometimes continuing into summer. Reddish stems turn bright red in winter and are particularly showy against a snowy backdrop. Ovate to lanceolate, medium to dark green leaves (2-5” long) acquire interesting shades of red to orange eventually fading to purple in autumn. With the exception of the lower midwest and deep South, this species is native to much of North America where it is typically found growing in wet swampy areas, wetland margins or along lakes and rivers. Cornus sericea, commonly known as red twig dogwood or red osier dogwood, is an upright-spreading, suckering shrub that typically grows in the absence of pruning to 6-9’ tall with a slightly larger spread.