
Offering year-round colour and interest, this tough and undemanding shrub can be used as a stand-alone specimen, an informal screen, or an eye-catching addition to mixed borders. Each spring, its new foliage emerges with a bright pink flush, but this soon fades to reveal the leaves green and cream variegations. These add tonal interest to mixed planting schemes throughout the summer, but in the autumn, the leaves start to develop reddish tints again, and these intensify as the season progresses. Therefore, before they are shed at the end of the growing season (and before the skeleton of bright red stems is revealed), the leaves are often an intense shade of purple-pink.
How to care for Cornus alba Miracle ('Verpaalen2') (PBR):
In March cut the stems back hard to within 5-7cm (2-3in) from the ground and apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted garden compost or horse manure around the base of the plant.
Flowering period:
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Eventual height:
2m
Eventual spread:
1.5m
Position:
Full sun / light shade
Rate of growth:
Average
Soil:
Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil
Hardiness:
Fully hardy
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This shrub is deciduous so it will lose all its leaves in autumn, then fresh new foliage appears again each spring.