This species and closely related species occur throughout much of northern North America and other part of the Northern Hemisphere. Red-osier dogwood is an excellent shrub for all but dry sites in the garden. Moist settings suit it ideally, though many people grow horticultural forms as specimen plants and in the shrub border. The modest height of cultivated varieties suits them well for planting under power lines. In less managed settings, the shrubs spread quickly into dense thickets which provide excellent wildlife habitat and retain the soil.
Song birds seek cover in the summer under the shrub's dense canopy.
Many bird species relish the berries in late summer and fall. Several varieties of red-osier dogwood are widely sold in garden centres and nurseries. You can grow dogwood from seed, cleaned of the pulp, sown in peaty loam in the fall for spring germination. Rooted suckers propagate easily. Late summer branch tip cuttings root readily too.