It's a very recent introduction, so I'm not sure you'll find too many gardeners with much experience with it.....not enough of a track record :-) IME, other similar selections of C. sanguinea ('Winter Fire', 'Winter Flame') offer the maximum appeal in winter when their flame colored stems are visible - the in-season foliage and appearance is somewhat underwhelming. In addition to its more compact habit, Arctic Sun offers bright, almost golden foliage, which IMO would add considerably to its appeal. Better fall color, too.

There are other dwarf twig dogwoods to chose from depending on your requirements. Cornus stolonifera 'Farrow' (trademark name Arctic Flame) is a very compact red twig dogwood as is the older selection 'Kelseyi'. I really like the look of Cornus alba 'Cream Cracker', a dwarf selection comparable to 'Elegantissima' or 'Bailhalo' (Ivory Halo) with creamy edge variegation on grey-green foliage. All of these should stay in the 3-4' range, about half or less the size of other twig dogwoods.

For more info, try a search under the registered name - Cornus sanguinea 'Cato' - rather than the trademarked Arctic Sun.

Thanks for the feedback Gardengal!!

The yellow-green foliage is certainly a strong feature of the Artic Sun making it worth planting for that aspect alone.

With all of the bare grey branches dominating the landscape a little color will be a welcome addition.

See a link below that offers some more picture of artic sun dogwood.

Here is a link that might be useful: Artic Sun Pix

Hi isabella! If you're still here, did you try Arctic Sun or did you go with another selection, or something else altogther? I made the mistake of using Pee Wee hydrangeas as a background hedge, one I view from the window in winter, and wish I had planted the yellow stemmed dogwoods I had considered instead. The hydrangeas look awful in winter.

I planted a grouping of three Alleman's Compact in another spot and love their red stems. Arctic Fire looked way too puny. I figure if they get too crazy, I'll just whack them back.