Shrubs are essential to a productive garden. They provide fragrant flowers in the spring, lush green foliage throughout the summer time and colorful foliage all through the fall. Evergreens add color towards the winter landscape. Shrubs give a landscape design its overall structure.

Many deciduous shrubs, those shrubs which lose their leaves in winter, are simple to develop and demand quite small maintenance. Hydrangea, for example, is usually a favorite deciduous shrub which can thrive for years with only occasional pruning. They’re one of the few summer time blooming shrubs and no garden is total without them.

Butterfly bush is an easy care, summer time blooming shrub with fragrant flowers. As the name suggests, they’re appealing to butterflies. Some varieties grow as much as six feet tall and six feet wide so they’re far more suitable towards the bigger garden.

But that’s not all they’ve in their favour. Indeed, they’re so variable that it could be really attainable to have an fascinating garden of viburnums alone.

Some of the far more well-liked plants are hybrids between evergreen and deciduous species and are semi-evergreen. This can truly be an advantage due towards the fact they retain adequate foliage to not look bare over winter whilst also creating vivid autumn tones within the leaves that fall.
A number of the deciduous species, like Viburnum opulus and Viburnum dentata, have lobed, somewhat maple-leaf-like foliage. Variegated foliage just isn’t common, but where it does occur, the patterns and colours might be striking. The variegated form of Viburnum tinus is rather popular.
Although the individual flowers are small, they’re massed in heads that in some varieties are quite massive indeed. Most typically the flowers are all fertile, but some species have hydrangea-like flower heads in which tiny clusters of fertile flowers are surrounded by massive sterile ray florets. Cultivars have been raised with flowerheads entirely composed of sterile flowers. A sterile Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’ [syn.
Although spring is the main flowering season, lots of of the most fragrant viburnums commence to bloom in winter, or even late autumn. Because their flowers aren’t brightly coloured and insects are fewer in winter, they presumably use scent as a implies to attract from a greater distance those pollinators that are around. Some, which include Viburnum × burkwoodii are hardly ever without having some flowers.
Fruit
In all cases, except for the sterile cultivars, the flowers are followed by berry-like drupes. While usually interestingly coloured, the drupes aren’t continually show, though when they are, they may be a actual feature. The steel-blue fruits of Viburnum davidii are quite distinctive along with the black drupes of Viburnum grandiflorum are especially large, but my favourite is the so-called High-bush Cranberry (Viburnum trilobum), which covers itself with bright red fruit in late summer time and autumn. It appears that just about any plant with showy red berries gets named a cranberry, but though the fruit is edible and may be used as a substitute for cranberry, it isn’t the real thing. For the record, the real cranberry, the 1 of jelly fame, is Vaccinium macrocarpon, a plant more closely associated to rhododendrons than viburnums.
Cultivation
There isn’t significantly to say here; viburnums are easy. Except for all but a handful of within the really coldest of New Zealand gardens, hardiness isn’t a problem; they’re not fussy about soil type; most will grow perfectly nicely in sun or part shade and some will develop in rather dark corners. Good drainage assists but they’ll tolerate soil that is damp for a while.
Success with viburnums is just not so very much a matter of receiving them to develop but directing and managing the growth they make.
If this is accomplished for the very first 5 years or so, you really should have well-shaped, heavy flowering plants.
What’s available
There are quite a few viburnums out there but garden centres tend to be rather uninspired in their selection, sticking fairly considerably to the attempted and true. However, pester your local garden centre enough and they really should be in a position to obtain hold of any of the following.
Viburnum bitchiuense
Found in southern Japan and Korea, this 3m tall deciduous shrub is attractive in its personal appropriate whilst also being a parent of quite a few attractive hybrids. It has large, strongly fragrant pink flowers that fade to white. They open in spring and are followed by black drupes.
Viburnum × bodnantense (Viburnum farreri × Viburnum grandiflorum)
A hybrid between two Chinese deciduous species, this 2.5m tall bush has rounded bright green leaves and small clusters of white flowers having a faint pink tint.
Viburnum × burkwoodii (Viburnum carlesii × Viburnum utile)
Viburnum carlesii is deciduous and Viburnum utile is evergreen, so in the spirit of compromise, their 3m tall offspring is semi-evergreen. Its rounded, bright green leaves have greyish undersides and in autumn those that fall develop intense yellow, orange and red tones prior to dropping. In mild locations the flowers open from late winter, elsewhere they seem in spring. They are white, opening from pink buds and are carried in ball-shaped clusters in spring.
Viburnum × carlcephalum (Viburnum carlesii × Viburnum macrocephalum forma keteleeri)
Sometimes called the Korean Spice Viburnum, this deciduous hybrid grows to about 2.5m tall and its flowers actually do have a spicy fragrance. They open in spring, the first blooms being pink when the later flowers have a tendency towards white-flushed-pink. The flower heads are up to 15cm across and complement the large, rather glossy leaves.
Viburnum carlesii
At very first sight this native of Korea and Japan resembles the far more widespread Viburnum × burkwoodii, which is just not surprising as it one of that hybrid’s parents. However, it can be totally deciduous and a additional compact plant, rarely exceeding 1.8m tall. Its flowers, in ball-shaped clusters, pink in bud opening to white in spring, are rather fragrant. You’ll find quite a handful of cultivars of which ‘Aurora’ (flowers in numerous shades of red pink and white) and ‘Cayuga’ (orange autumn foliage) are the most popular. Others, for instance the widely grown ‘Chesapeake’ are hybrids with Viburnum utile.
Viburnum davidii
While capable of growing to 1.5m tall, this western Chinese evergreen species is extra commonly observed as a mounding groundcover. Small clusters of white flowers open from late winter to mid-spring and are followed by steel blue drupes.

The flowers are white flushed with pale pink and are followed by red fruits that blacken when ripe.
Viburnum farreri
Although much less typical than the hybrids raised from it, this 3m tall, northern Chinese, deciduous species is properly worth growing for its rather fragrant pink-tinted white flowers that open from mid-winter. If pollinated the flowers develop into red fruit that blackens when ripe.
Viburnum japonica
Like V. davidii, this evergreen shrub is most normally seen put to use as a large-scale groundcover, though it’s capable of growing nicely over 1m tall. A native of Japan, it has deep green, glossy leaves and bronze new growth. Loose clusters of white flowers in late spring are followed by red drupes. Normal trimming right after flowering will maintain it compact.

Viburnum opulus
Found from Europe and North Africa to Central Asia, the Guelder Rose is a huge deciduous shrub with mid green, deeply lobed, maple-like leaves that redden in autumn. The bark contains a glucoside, viburnine, that has makes use of in herbal medicine, especially in the control of spasms and cramps. ‘Roseum’ (syn. ‘Sterile’) is normally a cultivar with huge heads of all-sterile flowers. It is identified as the snowball tree for the reason that of the size and colour of its flowerheads and is far much more widely grown than the species.
Viburnum plicatum
From China and Japan, this deciduous shrub grows to around 3m tall and has rounded, mid green, hazel-like leaves with serrated edges. Flattened clusters of white flowers in open in spring and may possibly be followed by red fruit that blackens when ripe. ‘Rosacea’ can be a cultivar with bronze young foliage and pink-tinted, all-sterile flowers in huge heads.
The leaves are up to 20cm lengthy and extremely heavily textured. ‘Variegatum’ is usually a cultivar with gold-splashed foliage.
Viburnum tinus
Once one of the most favorite hedging plants, though not so frequent now, the Laurustinus is typically a 3m tall, evergreen shrub from southern Europe and North Africa. It has leathery, bark olive green and in late winter and spring puts on a good display white flowers that usually develop pink tints. Variegated foliage cultivars frequently have brighter pink flowers.
Viburnum trilobum
As described earlier, the High-bush Cranberry is often a 2.5m tall, deciduous North American shrub. It has lobed, maple-like leaves that normally turn bright red in autumn. Flat heads of white flowers open in spring and large clusters of rather bright red berries in late summer to autumn.
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A small searching, specifically via mail order catalogues, will yield quite several far more species, hybrids and cultivars. Or you may attempt propagating your own.

Viburnums have long been a gardener’s preferred as they’re one probably the most versatile, adaptable and quick care shrubs available. You’ll find over 120 varieties of Viburnum so there’s one for each and every garden. Some viburnums, such as the Korean spice or judii varieties are suitable for shrub borders and as specimen plants. Others have a much more natural feel, for instance the arrowwood or maple-leaf viburunum, that are fantastic for the woodland garden. Most varieties retain colorful berries within the winter.

Many evergreens are straightforward to develop also and offer gardens with year-round interest. As soon as a rhododendron is planted, it demands small maintenance.

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