Habitat

• native to northeastern Asia
• hardy to zone 4, and warmer parts of 3

Habit and Form

• a deciduous shrub
• multistemmed, upright form
• 12' to 15' tall
• equal spread
• coarse texture
• moderate growth rate

Summer Foliage

• opposite leaf arrangement
• simple, deciduous leaves
• lobed
• 2" to 5" long
• dark green leaf color
• pubescent underside

Autumn Foliage

• bronze to reddish fall color

Flowers

• white flowers
• clustered in a flat-topped cyme
• 3" to 4" across
• clusters have both sterile and non-sterile flowers
• showy

Fruit

• red fruit
• 0.33" to 0.5' long
• matures in September
• persists

Bark

• tanish-brown stem color
• shiny

Culture

• full sun to partial shade
• easily transplanted and established
• best growth on fertile, moist soils
• very soil adaptable
• soil pH is not critical
• occasional pruning to remove oldest stems may be helpful
• very tough and easy to grow

Landscape Use

• shrub border
• screen
• mass plantings
• small groupings
• useful for flowering and fruiting
• difficult growing sites

Liabilities

• aphids can be particularly problematic
• aphid feeding causes shoots and leaves to twist and contort
• borers occasionally
• needs occasional rejuvenation pruning

ID Features

• opposite, tri-lobed, maple-like leaves
• relatively large, red, fleshy fruits
• ring of sterile flowers surround inner fertile flowers
• flask-shaped buds, 0.33" long
• valvate greenish red color

Propagation

• by cuttings
• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

var. calvescens - This variant generally grows smaller, to 10' tall, with typical 4" flower clusters and long-lasting red fruit.

'Flavum' - Not commonly available, this selection offers clear yellow fruit. Otherwise, it is like the species.

'Onondaga' - This U.S. National Arboretum introduction is the most popular form of the species in commerce. It is very unique in flower for a Viburnum, as the flat-topped flower clusters feature an outer ring of large sterile, white blooms. Most spectacular, however, is the central mass of small fertile flowers that are dull pink-maroon in color. The contrast between the large white florets and small pink buds/flowers makes for a unique appearance. The young foliage also emerges with a reddish overcast that remains slightly on older foliage. The plant is large and rounded to 8' tall.

'Susquehanna' - Another U.S. National Arboretum cultivar, this plant represents a selection of the species that is most notable for its heavy flower and fruit production. Other features are similar to the straight species.