Red Pygmy® Rutgers Dwarf Dogwood

Red Pygmy® Rutgers Dogwood is an adorable pint-sized version of our beloved American Flowering Dogwood tree that will bring a cheerful pop of color to your foundation beds or to a cozy corner of your outdoor dining, sitting, or entertaining space. Spring brings full-sized pink-red blossoms to this petite beauty’s branches to kick off the show, followed by rich green foliage that turns bronze-red in fall, as well as glossy red fruits loved by songbirds. Few trees stay so small (around 8 feet by 6 feet), yet are so blessed with ornamental riches. A true treasure.

It might seem funny to think of a plant as an “invention,” but horticultural living legend Dr. Elwin Orton was recently inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame for his groundbreaking breeding work with hollies and dogwoods. Orton has made big bucks in plant patent royalties, too—for his employer, Rutgers University. To engineer Red Pygmy®, one of Orton’s latest creations, he brought together the common Red-Flowering Dogwood (variety rubra) with the naturally dwarf, white-flowering ‘Pygmy’ Dogwood to produce the world’s first ever Dwarf Red-Flowering Dogwood.

Ideal for smaller gardens, this rare dwarf Dogwood variety brings some pizazz! You can expect an awesome display of deep red-pink flowers in spring and bright red fruit in fall along with orange/red fall foliage. Use this Red Pygmy Dogwood as a specimen, in Japanese-style gardens, or use in groupings.