RE: Viburnums experiences please.
- To: "'woodyplants@mallorn.com'"
- Subject: RE: Viburnums experiences please.
- From: S* S*
- Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 09:55:34 -0800
Viburnums; one of my very favorite plant families!
zone
> 6 or less.
I am in zone 6a, 7b. I live in Oregon, but in a pocket that can get wicked,
dessicating winds and terrible ice storms; not too much snow, however.
> Which are your favorites and why?
Favorites? I'll comment on those I've grown, as I wouldn't be without any
of them.
The first vibrunum I grew is V. opulus compactum. I fell in love with the
pictures of the full sized one, but knew I really didn't have room for
that... famous last words.
V. opulus compactum is in part shade in my garden and even has to compete
somewhat with tree roots. The leaves are a very pretty matte green,
oak-leaved shaped and turn a bright red in fall. The flowers are a creamy
white and reminiscent of a lace cap hydrangea; it blooms about May in my
garden. The flowers are followed by brilliant, translucent fire-engine red
berries that the birds completely ignore; however, visitors to the garden
are stopped dead in their tracks upon encountering the shrub, from about
August on. The berries hang on even through the winter (although they start
to get somewhat mushy by Dec.), but they are quite useful in fall wreaths
and arrangements. The plant seems to take to pruning quite well, and also
roots where branches touch the ground (not invasively) so in a few years you
will have plants to share or spread around your own garden. The ultimate
size in my garden seems to be about 5 x 5 -- this coming from a woman who
can never leave a shrub alone when pruners are in hand.
The next v. I grew is V. carlesii. This plant also grew in part shade (now
the tree is gone) and thrived, again, competing with roots. Ultimate size
again is about 5 x 5. The leaves on this one have more of a burgandy hint
to the leaves, they are ovalish (sorry, I'm not up on all the proper terms
for leaf shape). This flowers in March in my garden with white flushed pink
flowers that smell of carnations to me. You can smell it all over the
garden when in bloom. It makes a great host plant for 2 clematis
thereafter, until the foliage in fall turns a deep burgandy. Very nice
shrub.
A newer v. to me is V. bodnantense, I think I have 'Deben' but it might be
another cultivar. This I got as a very small cutting and while I really
like the plant, mine is a little gangly still. It has reached about 7 x 4
right now, grown in part shade again, and is in bloom NOW with very pretty
chocolate brown stems and pink flowers, very fragrant. The leaves, from my
poor memory, are smallish and oval. If you have any of Dirr's books, he has
pictures of most of these and will certainly do a better job than I at
explaining the leaves, etc. I do think the ultimate size on this is approx.
10x10, but I have no intention of letting mine get this large. A friend of
mine has a very old shrub in her garden and it apparently suckers a bit, but
is not a problem, and it seems to grow more vase shaped than my immature
plant.
A new v's for me is v. tinus 'Spring Bouquet.' It is growing, slowing,
under a very large tree, in more than part shade, but it is growing. I
can't comment on the leaves and only remember the flowers were white. Can't
remember if they were fragrant or not and I have not gotten the blue/black
berries yet either. I think it will be a nice shrub, once established.
Another new one is v. nudum 'Winterthur' (sp??). Pretty small still and I
really can't recall the leaves OR the flowers -- so sorry. But it is
reputed to have berries in all shades from pink through blue at one time in
the fall. I think it gets rather large, but I hope to contain it somewhat.
The last new one is V. opulus 'Xanthocarpum.' This is similar in most
respects to v. opulus compactum, but the berries are gold and the ultimate
size is 10 x 10. Mine is new, but growing right along. The berries turn
nearly pumpkin orange by winter, and hang on. Roots as well where the
branches touch the ground.
These last three I purchased after reading an article on vibrunums in
Horticulture magazine a few years ago -- I love berries and viburnums, so I
thought I would give them a whirl -- whether I can keep them in bounds
remains to be seen.
Good luck choosing just a few -- they are AWESOME shrubs. If I could add
one more it would v. maresii -- the double file v. The flowers are sure
pretty, but I feel I really couldn't prune this one too much or I'd ruin the
natural shape, so I've gone without it.
Let us know what you decide on.
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