Viburnum – The Fragrant Spring Flowering Shrub

If you are looking for a shrub that will have your nose sniffing in the air for its lovely fragrance every spring look no further than the viburnum. These shrubs come from the honeysuckle family so you can only imagine the sweet scent they produce. They come in many different varieties and are good in zones 2 through 9 making them hardy for cold winter areas. They produce a variety of blooms making them one of the most popular shrubs around.

There are more than 150 types of viburnum. There are two groups – the evergreen and semi-evergreen types and the deciduous woody shrubs. Most flower in the spring and color can range from white to pink. Their flower heads are either flat top clusters that look like hydrangeas or snowball types with dome shaped flower clusters. Several of the species have ornamental fruits that develop in late summer or fall and come in red, yellow, blue or black.

They prefer full sun but will tolerate partial shade and do not like to be wet all the time and generally aren’t too picky about the soil in which they are grown. They are pretty pest resistant which makes them very popular in landscapes.

Propagation

Do not try to grow these shrubs from seed. Most of today’s varieties are crosses between two other varieties and cannot be grown from seed. Instead try the layering method in the fall. Take a stem from a friend’s shrub and attach it to the ground with a ‚”U” shaped piece of wire. Leave it alone through the winter and in the spring you should find that it has rooted and you can dig it out and replant it in your own garden. If your neighbor doesn’t have a viburnum growing his yard, the shrub can be readily purchased in most nurseries so you can go buy your own plant and then start one in the fall for your neighbor.

Fertilizing and Pruning

If you have a viburnum shrub in your yard now feed it with a slow release fertilizer in the spring; around mid-April in cold weather areas. Something important to know about this shrub is that branches should be pruned right after the blooms fade and before new buds set in the fall. Prune late August to be safe. This may cut off some of the berries for the fall season but it will be worth it. Blooms grow on previous year’s wood.

Viburnum shrubs come in many different shapes and sizes. Some can be grown into tree-like bushes. Some foliage can be rounded, toothed, smooth or rough and then there are the evergreen varieties. If you want variety, this is the shrub for you.

Varieties

Here are a few popular varieties of viburnum:

Burkewood – Good in zones 5 to 8 can grow to 8’high. They are extremely fragrant. Try ‚”Anne Russell” for pink flowers and foliage that turns red in the fall or ‚”Mohawk” for its spicy fragrance and white snowball like flowers good in zones 4 to 8.

Aurora is a very fragrant shrub with pink to white snowball like flowers blooming in April. Leaves turn red in the fall with blackish red berries.

Koreanspice is a smaller viburnum only growing to 4 to 5 feet. Flowers are small snowball type and very fragrant in pink to white color. It produces bluish berries in the fall.

Arrowwood grows big; about 12 to 15 feet. Flowers are flat and grow in clusters in the spring while fruit is blue black.

Make sure to visit your local nursery to find out what type of viburnum grows most successfully in your area and plant one. You will not be disappointed come spring and that wonderful fragrance wafts all over your yard.

See other information by this author at PrymeThyme On-Line.