+
+
Cornus mas

Cornus mas

Cornelian cherry, European cornel, Cornelian cherry dogwood

Description

Cornus mas (cornelian cherry) occurs naturally in Central to Southestern Europe, Asia Minor and the Caucasus, where it is part of the understory shrub layer of deciduous woodlands or rocky scrublands. It is associated with Quercus petraeaQuercus cerrisFraxinus ornus and Ostrya carpinifolia. The cornelian cherry was first described by the Swedish botanist, Carl Linneus in 1753. This large shrub or small tree with a round crownshape could reach as high as five to seven metres, and five metres wide.

As an early, winter flowering shrub, Cornus mas is such a welcome sight on sunny February, early March days, especially when the lower branches are lifted higher up to let some light in and underplanted with early flowering bulbs. The yellow, small but numerous flowers are appearing before the foliage in late February-early March and covering the whole plant, supporting the early rising insects with pollen and nectar. The red berries are ripening in August and September and are also highly valuable to feed wildlife and could be used for culinary purposes. They have got a high content of vitamin-C and many other beneficial nutrients. Leaves are ovate, dull green then turning to beautiful yellow to orange in October when planted in full sun. The bark on younger plants is smooth brown-grey, later becoming highly ornamental turning to light brown and peeling off in small pieces.

Cornus mas is an ideal choice for medium to large gardens, public spaces, where it has space around to spread and grow into its natural shape. It is a slow growing but very long lived plant. It could be planted on any well draining soils even in very dry places and has amazing heat and drought tolerance. It could take hard pruning once established and resprout from the base. It is also a perfect hedging plant for informal hedges to bear some winter interest and also some fruits later on the season which could be foraged by wildlife and people too, if planted in a non-polluted place. The cornelian cherry could take the shade of deciduous woodlands, however it is happier on woodland edges in dappled shade or in full sun.

Types of planting

Tree types

standard trees half-stem trees feathered trees multi-stemmed trees climate trees characteristic trees fruit trees woodland planting stock solitary shrubs

Topiary on stem

fval beehive fval cylinder fval multi-stem umbrella fval espalier fval pleached

Topiary

cylinder cylinder column column hedge hedge archway archway espalier espalier

Use

Location

street park central reservation in containers roof garden large garden small garden cemetery traffic areas, industrial zones countryside ecological zone windbreak

Pavement

none none open open sealed sealed

Planting concepts

climate planting food forest eco planting landscape planting prairie planting

Characteristics

Crown shape

rounded rounded flattened spherical flattened spherical

Crown structure

dense dense

Height

5 - 7 m

Width

3 - 5 m

Winter hardiness zone

4A - 8B

Aspects

Wind

tolerant to wind

Soil

loess sabulous clay light clay loamy soil

Nutrient level

moderately rich in nutrients rich in nutrients

Soil moisture level

dry moist

Light requirements

sun partial shade

pH range

acidic neutral alkaline

Host plant/forage plant

bees butterflies birds small mammals humans nectar value 4 pollen value 4

Extreme environments

tolerant to dryness tolerates heat

Get to know Ebben Nurseries

Visit our nurseries with multi-stem trees, climbing trees, trees for avenues and parks characteristic trees and solitary shrubs.

Make an appointment

Place order or further information?

Order this plant? Or would you like further information about Cornus mas? Make an appointment for a detailed planting recommendation.
Call +31(0) 485 31 20 21 or email one of our advisors directly.
Our planting advisors

Photos

Magnify

Seasonal colours

Cornus mas seizoenskleur
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Flowers

Flowers

umbels striking singular

Flower colour

yellow

Flowering period

January - March

Leaves

Leaf colour

green

Leaves

deciduous ovoid polished smooth undulate

Autumn colour

red-violet

Fruits

Fruit colour

red

Fruits

striking edible drupe

Bark

Bark colour

orange brown

Bark

peeling

Twigs

Twig colour

red-brown

Twigs

bare

Root system

Root system

deep shallow compact highly branched

For and by green professionals

The TreeEbb is a platform for and by green professionals, in which we collect knowledge and experience from the sector and make this available for users. All the details and photos are free to use for non-commercial purposes. Want to share your tree knowledge? Send photographs and additional information to treeebb@ebben.nl

Contact
Show filters Hide filters
Show comparison
View mood board
TreeEbb

TreeEbb

Geographic location
Winter hardiness zone
OK
Coastal area
OK
Use
Location
OK
Pavement
OK
Host plant/forage plant
OK
Planting concepts
OK
Types of planting
Tree types
OK
Multi-stemmed trees
OK
Crown structure
OK
Crown shape
OK
Topiary on stem
OK
Topiary
OK
Height
m
-
m
OK
Width
m
-
m
OK
Aspects
Wind
OK
Soil
OK
Nutrient level
OK
Soil moisture level
OK
Light requirements
OK
PH range
OK
Extreme environments
OK
Stage of succession
OK
Plant characteristics
Flowering period
January
-
December
OK
Flower colour
OK
Leaf colour
OK
Autumn colour
OK
Fruit colour
OK
Bark colour
OK
Special features
OK
English
View mood board
Show comparison
Your selection:
STAY UP TO DATE
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SUBSCRIBING
×
Cookie settings

We use cookies when offering electronic services. A cookie is a small, simple file that is sent with the pages of this website and stored on the hard disk of your computer by your browser. This allows us to combine various requests for pages on the website and analyse users’ behaviour, for example. You can indicate which cookies you wish to accept using the settings below. Bear in mind that not accepting cookies will mean that part of the functionality of this website may not be available. You can find more information about the use of data and the various cookies in our privacy and cookie declaration.