This tough, easy-to-grow shrub or small tree boasts a profusion of creamy-white flowers, attractive white fruits borne on pinkish-red stems, and red-orange to burgundy fall color. Native to the eastern and midwestern United States, gray dogwood is extremely adaptable to different soils and moisture levels. It thrives in moist, well-drained soils, but grows in nearly any soil type and tolerates dry periods once established. It will tolerate less than four hours of sunlight, but at least 4 hours of sun is required to stimulate the reddish fall color. Flowers bloom in late spring or early summer, followed by fleshy, round berries that are devoured by birds and mammals. Gray dogwood is one of the first plants to spread in response to wildfires or logging, and it excels in naturalized, informal settings where it can spread to form colonies. The suckers grow vigorously from the multi-stemmed base of the shrub; however, the shrub itself grows 3 to 8’ tall and wide at a medium rate, usually no more than 12” per year. This pattern of growth and spread makes gray dogwood an ideal choice for use as an informal understory shrub or a screen. Because of the root system, it’s often used to provide erosion control on the edges of ponds and embankments. It requires more attention to succeed in a formal setting, where the shrub will need to be regularly pruned to remove suckers. If it becomes too large or leggy, it can be pruned to the ground. This encourages both fullness and suckering. 
 
Named for the color of its bark, gray dogwood produces dome-shaped panicles of flowers that are about as tall as they are wide, which is different from the flat-topped panicles of other species of dogwood. The unique shape may be the inspiration for the species name, racemosa, which means “clustered,” and also for another common name, panicled dogwood. Gray dogwood is also distinguished by slender leaves and increased resistance to the diseases and pests that tend to bother other species of dogwood. 
 
Native habitats include edges of and openings in woodlands, prairies, thickets, fencerows, abandoned fields, and roadsides.  
 
Plant Characteristics: 
Grows 10-12’ tall and about half as wide. Occasionally reaches 15’, and one source notes that it may be as tall as 27’ in tree form and ideal conditions. 
 
Prefers full or part sun and tolerates sites with less than 4 hours of sunlight. Full sun produces best fall color.
 
Prefers moist and well-drained soils but adapts to nearly any type of soil, from occasionally wet to occasionally dry (once established) and sandy to clay. 
 
Individual flowers are about ¼” wide and composed of 4 lanceolate petals, 4 stamens with yellow anthers, and a central pistil. Panicle stems are initially cream colored, becoming red as the fruits mature. Globoid drupes are about ¼” wide, turning from green to white as they mature. Each fruit contains 1-2 furrowed seeds. 
 
Opposite, ovate- to lance-shaped leaves are up to 4” long and 1 ½” wide with smooth margins and long, slender tips. Surface is medium green to reddish green and underside is pale green. 
 
Bark is gray to gray-brown with many small lenticels, becoming rougher as it matures. Young bark may be orangish. 
 
Wildlife Value: 
Host plant to the larvae of 111 species of Lepidoptera, including the spring azure butterfly and Polyphemus moth. Dogwoods are highly valuable plants for wildlife. The nectar and pollen attract many varieties of pollinators, including bumble, honey, cuckoo, little carpenter, halictid, and other types of bees, plus many species of flies and beetles. The short-tongued bee Andrena fragilis is a specialist pollinator of dogwood flowers. The high-fat fruits attract over 100 species of both migrating and overwintering birds, including woodpeckers and cardinals. Raccoons, skunks, squirrels, and chipmunks also consume the berries. If allowed, gray dogwood will form thickets that provide increasingly critical protection and nesting sites for birds. Deer and rabbits browse the branches and leaves. 
 
Medicinal, Edible and Other Uses: 
The bark was used to cleanse wounds and to treat toothaches, and shredded bark was used as a substitute for tobacco. 
 
The berries are not edible to humans.