Medium Shrubs

Dwarf Birch

Betula glandulosa

• Just under 2m high and relatively narrow at under 1m wide
• Dark grey branches at the tips, darker red interior
• Branches are covered with lenticels, creating a rough texture
• Attractive small round dark green leaves, outstanding orange to reddish fall colours
• Relatively insignificant small green flower gives rise to the catkins
• Male and female catkins on the same plant; female catkins disintegrate as the seeds shed (non-persistent)

Landscape Use

Special Conditions

Gold Currant

Ribes aureum

• Wide branchy shrub, 1.5 m high and wide
• Fairly open and thin as it matures
• Three-lobed leaf, green in the summer and a brilliant dark red in the fall
• Yellow flowers appear in the later spring, attractive and fragrant, bloom for several weeks
• Red or black fruit, 0.5 to 1cm in diameter, is juicy and tasty
• Hangs on for a long time into the fall and does get sweeter with frosts
• Winter colour of the new wood is tan

Landscape Use

Special Conditions

Red Twig Dogwood

Cornus sericea

• Widespread shrub up to 3m high, usually as wide as it is high
• Thick and bushy with dark deep green leaves in summer turning a deep red in the fall
• Small white flowers in clusters, mildly fragrant, bloom in mid summer
• Clusters white fruit, sometimes with a bluish tinge, ripen in fall and hang on until later in the season
• Dark red to purplish winter branches

Landscape Use

Special Conditions

Yellow Pussy Willow

Salix lutea

• Grows to 3m high and wide
• Fairly thick and bushy
• Shiny green leaves in the summer turn bright yellow in fall
• Very nice bright silver pussy willows (male catkin) about 2cm long that come out in early spring
• Dramatic vibrant yellow twigs in the winter

Landscape Use

Special Conditions