Varieties of viburnum good for every space in your garden

Because I have four varieties of viburnum in my gardens I thought I had a good selection to write about. Little did I know how many I was missing.

Michael Dirr’s book, “Hardy Trees and Shrubs,” features 21 varieties. I didn’t have any idea there were so many.

In the late professor Norm Pellet’s booklet for the University of Vermont’s Extension Service, “Landscape Plants for Vermont,” he features only 11. But if he suggests them, you will know they are right at home in Charlotte.

I was honored by Pellet’s asking me to add some pen-and-ink drawings to the updated version done with Mark Starrett, also of the University of Vermont, back around 2000.

The reason viburnums came to mind is that right outside my study window, in bloom, is a Viburnum carlesii or, as you might know it, Korean spice bush. And spicy it is.

In the evenings its delicious fragrance wafts in the open windows. The blooms for carlesii begin as pink clusters about 2-inches wide and fade to white as they open and mature. The leaves have a fuzzy texture.

I find mine suffer from aphids and curl up a bit. This doesn’t deter me from appreciating it though.

The form is rangy and needs pruning every few years to keep it in size. Though I do have one farther from the house that I have never pruned except for deadwood. This is one of the earliest bloomers in my spring garden.

Another favorite which has offerings for three seasons is Viburnum plicatum var. tormentosum, commonly known as doublefile viburnum. This shows itself more as an understory tree than a shrub.

The branches are horizontal with white blooms up and down each limb. The largest petals are not the flowers, but in the center are tiny fertile flowers which will produce berries in fall. The berries begin as red and eventually become black (if the birds don’t get them first).

Leaves have fascinating pleats and turn a brilliant red in fall. This is a charming addition and adds height to the garden along with its blooms and berries. Pruning is not necessary.

My third viburnum’s the Viburnum trilobum or American cranberry bush. It has spectacular red autumn color and red jewel-like oval berries. This variety doesn’t mind wet feet and even thrives in moist soil. It rises to 8-12 feet at maturity.

When I first planted two of these in 1989, they were immediately devastated by the viburnum beetle. Pellet teased me for planting them. I thought I’d wasted my money, but both recovered and still are living and producing today. The leaves are maple shaped, and the shrub is often mistaken for European cranberry (opulus), but trilobum is the better choice.

The last one in my collection is the last one I acquired. It’s a cultivar of Viburnum plicatum called summer snowflake. The difference is in plant shape, which is more tree-like than shrub and doesn’t have the orderly rows of blooms on horizontal limbs. But it has blooms aplenty, and it reblooms all summer long.

There are many more varieties and the internet can help you find them. I find searching online invaluable. Not only do you get to read about care and hardiness but also where you can acquire them.

We have several good local nurseries to choose from and I support our own whenever I can. Learning about viburnums shows how important Latin names are in horticulture. The species are differentiated after the name Viburnum, and since the types are so different, you’ll want to know what you are buying.

I find a lot of joy in growing viburnums without a lot of work. There is one for each spot in the garden so I encourage you to look into them.