Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

Not Yet Rated

Sunday - February 21, 2016

From: Kennewick, WA
Region: Northwest
Topic: Planting, Shrubs, Trees
Title: Spacing for Dogwoods and Cotoneasters
Answered by: Anne Van Nest

QUESTION:

How close should Dogwoods and Cotoneasters be to bricks?

ANSWER:

How close Dogwoods (Cornus) and Cotoneaster should be planted to bricks is a difficult question to answer without knowing more details. Dogwoods can be shrubs (Cornus sericea) or trees (Cornus florida) and Cotoneaster (a non-native) can be a dwarf groundcover (Cotoneaster dammeri) or a shrub (Cotoneaster ludicus). So spacing is determined by the ultimate mature spread of the plant. Also, it is unclear whether the bricks in question are forming a walkway or the side of a house. In any case give the plants extra space to grow and for sun and air circulation around the plants.

From the Image Gallery

Red osier dogwood
Cornus sericea

Flowering dogwood
Cornus florida