Side by side

Common dogwood or white dogwood? How to tell them apart

Cornus sanguinea · Cornus alba

You can tell a common dogwood by its twigs, which only turn red on the sunny side, and its blue-black berries; a white dogwood has glossy coral-red twigs all round, a blue-grey leaf underside and white berries.

In winter, look at the twigs: on the white dogwood they are glossy blood-red to coral-red all over, on the common dogwood mainly on the side facing the sun. Both have opposite, smooth-edged leaves with curved veins and flat heads of small white flowers. In late summer the berries settle it: blue-black or white.

Updated on 11 October 2026

Photo: Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Common dogwood Cornus sanguinea

Photo: Opioła Jerzy (Poland), CC BY 2.5 · source

White dogwood Cornus alba

Common dogwood and white dogwood side by side
	Common dogwood	White dogwood
Leaves	Opposite, oval, 4–8 cm, untoothed, with curved veins. Tear a leaf gently and thin white threads stay hanging between the pieces. Wine-red autumn colour.	Opposite, 5–10 cm, oval with a pointed tip, untoothed, with curved veins; underside bluish-grey. Often variegated. Autumn colour red to purple.
Flowering	Flat heads of small white flowers in June (May–June).	Flat heads of yellowish-white flowers in May–June (May–June).
Fruit	Bluish-black berries, not edible.	White to bluish-white berries in late summer; not edible.
Bark	Twigs blood-red on the sunny side, especially in winter.	Young twigs glossy blood-red to coral, especially in winter; older branches greyish-brown.
Shape and height	Shrub, 2–4 m	Shrub, 2–3 m
Site	Sun or partial shade, any garden soil, normal	Sun or partial shade, any garden soil, moist to wet
Native to Belgium	Yes	No, planted
Good for bees, butterflies and birds	Yes, for bees and birds	–
Poisonous to people and pets	Not known to be poisonous	Not known to be poisonous
Pruning months	February–March	March–April

The best feature in each season

Spring: The white dogwood flowers in May–June, with yellowish-white flowers, the common dogwood in June, with white flower heads. Gently tear a leaf of either: thin white threads stay hanging between the halves, typical of dogwoods.
Summer: Turn a leaf over: blue-grey underneath on the white dogwood, greener on the common dogwood. Variegated forms with white- or yellow-edged leaves are mostly white dogwoods.
Autumn: The berries decide it: blue-black on the common dogwood, white to bluish-white on the white dogwood. The leaves of the common dogwood turn wine red, those of the white dogwood red to purple.
Winter: Now both stand out with their red twigs. On the white dogwood the young twigs are coral-red all round; on the common dogwood they are blood-red on the sunny side and greenish on the shady side.

Where do they grow?

The common dogwood is native and grows in hedgerows, shelterbelts and woodland edges, preferably on chalky soil. The white dogwood comes from Siberia, northern China and Korea and is found here in gardens and public planting, often in groups along ponds or roads.

Which one for your garden?

Choose the native common dogwood for a mixed hedge, a shelterbelt or a bank: it grows almost anywhere, forms a dense thicket by suckers and offers flowers for insects and berries for birds.
The white dogwood is the best choice for bright winter stems in a border or by a pond; cut it back hard every spring, as only young twigs colour well. The berries of both are not edible.

Did you know? The hard, tough wood of the common dogwood was once used for skewers and pegs; the English name dogwood probably comes from dagwood, ‘skewer wood’.

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