As Ken explained on last weekend’s show, there are several ornamental shrubs that produce colorful twigs and limbs beinging glorious color to the garden during the cold winter months. However, these colors only appear on new growth; purning these shrubs will force new, colorful growth that will brighten your garden next winter. Now is the time to "stool" shrub dogwoods and willows–that is, cut back most of the branches to 4-6" high.
Here is Ken’s list of shrubs that respond well to cutting-back, a.k.a. "stooling"
Dogwood Shrubs:
Cornus alba (Tatarian Dogwood). Most have red stems in winter.
C. a. ‘Bloodgood’ — very showy red
C. a. ‘Siberica’ — coral red
C. sanguinea (Bloodtwig Dogwood) Species has red twigs in winter.
C. s. ‘Atrosanguinea’ — deep red
C. s. ‘Midwinter fire’ — red changing to orange and yellow at the tips
C. s. ‘Viridissima’ — yellow stems
C. s. ‘Winter Flame’ — orange-red to pink, red, yellow at tips
Cornus sericea (Redosier Dogwood) species bright red
C. s. ‘Cardinal’ — cherry red
C. s. ‘Flavairamea’ — yellow
C. s. ‘Nitida’ — grass green
C. s. ‘Silver and Gold’ — variegated leaves, yellow stems
Willows
Salix species — willow
Salix alba ‘Britzensis’ — coral red
S. a. ‘Cardinalis’ — sealing-wax red
S. a. ‘Vitellina’ — Kodak-yellow
Salix ‘Flame’ — orange-red
Ghost Brambles
Rubus biflorus — silver
R. biflorus var. quinquiflorus — white
Rubus phoenicolasius — red
If you cannot find these at your local nursery, check out Forest Farm mail order nursery.