I am growing Arctic Fire, which is supposed to stay dwarf. Just one Summer of growth, so we will see. My other, which I call Midwinter Fire, grows quickly and is huge, but they can be pruned severely, and the youngest branches carry the best color, anyway. Another minus is that they tend to colonize, or sucker, but I am willing to tend to that, and will, certainly, prune them severly. Forest Farm has, from time to time, listed other dwarf sorts I have not tried.

To manage color and size you can cut them to a few inches from the ground at the end of Winter, or remove one third of the sprouts each year, since many stems over three years of age are less colorful than new sprouts.

I wish we could "like" others comments...but since we cannot, bogturtle, I agree with your suggestions for management. Also, try the variety 'Isanti'...it is more dense and compact, growing only 4-6' by 4-6'.

I too have 'Arctic Fire' and it is a manageable size...also you could try 'Silver and Gold' which has yellow stems and variegated leaves, also stays a nice 4x4x4 more or less, though will get wider with suckering.

Since it is the new growth on these plants that has the most color, selectively pruning out the older stems each year gets you the most impact. As they are often the biggest stems, it also keeps your shrub a bit tidier and more compact. Standard rejuvenation pruning technique.

Good luck!

Sara

I have had very good luck with 'Arctic Fire' staying small. I have had it for four seasons now and it is still a under three feet high. I did have a little blight on the foliage, one of those seasons, but otherwise it has been a solid performer.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Blog post about two red stem plants