Illustration
Bunchberry
Cornus canadensis
Also called canadian bunchberry, canadian dwarf cornel, dwarf dogwood, creeping dogwood and dwarf cornel
Bunchberry blooms from May through June.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Bunchberry
Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 2–6. Expect it to reach about 0.5 ft tall and 2.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Bunchberry. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Bunchberry
Plant Bunchberry in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 4, the middle of its hardy zones 2 to 6, spring means April to June and fall means July or August. Once settled, it blooms from May to June.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 4, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 4 in April. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Bunchberry get?
0.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult2.5 ftwideSee Bunchberry in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Bunchberry
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Bunchberry about 2.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Bunchberry to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Bunchberry's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 9 published sources on October 13, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- The Morton Arboretumheight, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- Plant Addictsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags and pests
- NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, trait tags, diseases, pests and toxicity
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, sun, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- University of Illinois ExtensionHort Answersheight, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and soil
- University of Wisconsin HorticultureA3837height, spread, hardiness zones, water and soil
- Penn State Extensionheight, hardiness zones and sun
- apps.extension.umn.eduUniversity of Minnesota Extension, Turtle Lake Shoreland Site Portfoliobloom months and color
- extension.purdue.eduPurdue Extension, Distinguishing Dogwoodsheight
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.