Is this Red Osier Dogwood?

[richardzane]

has anyone here had any luck transplanting or cultivating red osier and using it for homegrown arrows?
I see it offered for sale in a number of places (and with a wide variety of prices)

[Pat B]

Red osier is used quite a bit in landscapes. You should be able to buy it at most large garden centers. The main landscape appeal for red osier is the red stems in the winter. After about 3 years of growing the red stems turn a grayish brown color so you cut the shrub back to about 6" in the spring(or selective pruning) and let the new, red shoots sprout. You have to give these shoots at least 2 years before they are ready to be made into arrows but with a few plants and a good thinning method you can have arrow shoots every year.
 Another good shoot arrow plant you can buy at a garden center is arrow wood viburnum(Viburnum dentatum). Both should grow well if planted according to planting instructions and in an appropriate area of exposure.

[richardzane]

thanks Pat,
viburnum is definitely worth considering putting in the garden.
Do you know anyone harvesting arrows from red osier they cultivated? just curious as to how it compares in spine strength
to wild growths.

[Pat B]

I don't think you would notice any difference. Red osier is a rambling, multi stemmed shrub that spreads into colonies. It would be a plant that would not be a focal point but in the background or along a creek or a woodline. Probably no special fertilization needed.

[outback118]

the pic that Stringstretcher has up is red osier, most of the trunks are bright red in winter not just the buds and twigs. A nother good one you may come across is silky dogwood, it gets taller then the RED O and as the lower older growth turns green to gray look at Thea's pics on an old post of mine.

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,24114.msg323712.html#msg323712