The Dogwood 'Ivory Halo', Cornus alba 'Bailhalo',also known as tatarian dogwood, is a cultivar that is noted for its compact size, variegated (white-edged) leaves and bright red twigs in winter. It is a rapid-growing, multi-stemmed, suckering, deciduous shrub that grows to a maximum size of 4-6' tall on erect, usually unbranched stems. The outstanding ornamental features of this cultivar are: (1) bright red winter stems which are particularly showy against a snowy backdrop and (2) medium/dark green leaves (to 4.5" long) which are edged with white.
Tiny, yellowish-white flowers appear in flat-topped clusters (to 2.5" diameter) in late spring, with sparse, intermittent, additional flowering sometimes continuing into summer. Flowers give way to clusters of blue-white drupes in summer. Fruit is quite attractive to birds and is generally considered to have as much if not more ornamental interest than the flowers. Fall color is variable, but foliage may turn attractive shades of purple-red.