How to Plant and Grow Viburnum

Good luck finding a more diverse group of shrubs for the garden. Viburnums offer something for everyone. Whether you plant them for their colorful berries, showy flowers, wonderful fragrance, or brilliant foliage and stem color, viburnum options are seemingly endless.

Viburnum bloom time falls anywhere from early spring to late summer, depending on the species. Flower shapes and sizes also vary. Some varieties have layered blooms. Snowball bush viburnum has flowers that look like its name suggests. Many early-blooming varieties have fragrant flowers.

Viburnum foliage is usually green, but some varieties have white or yellow variegation or pronounced veining. Many types have fiery autumn foliage, while some are evergreen or semi-evergreen, holding their leaves through winter.

As a bonus, most viburnums have eye-catching berries to top off the pretty flowers and foliage. A few, like the arrowhead viburnum, are grown for their bright blue berries in the fall. Cranberry bush viburnum has bright berries that resemble cranberries (be warned, though; the fruit often has a funky smell some people liken to dirty socks). Viburnum berry colors include red, pink, blue, purple, and black.

Where to Plant Viburnum

Viburnums enliven sunny to partially shaded gardens in central and eastern states, where they offer colorful fall foliage, spring blooms and winter interest in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 2–9. The shrubs are useful for privacy and controlling erosion on slopes.

How and When to Plant Viburnum

Plant viburnums in the spring or fall in a location that receives full sun for the best flower and berry production. Some varieties tolerate light shade. Viburnums perform best in fertile, well-draining soil, but they aren’t picky and will grow in less-than-ideal conditions.

Remove the plant from the nursery container. Dig a hole two to three times wider than the root ball. Loosen the plant’s roots with your fingers. Position the shrub in the hole so that it sits at the same height as in the nursery container. Put half the soil back in the hole and water it. Then put the rest of the soil back and water again.

Viburnum Care Tips

Light

As diverse as viburnums are, site requirements don’t vary much. Generally, full sun is best for the finest show of blooms, berries, and fall color. Some thick-leaf varieties, however, can tolerate some shade.

Soil and Water

Viburnums grow in most types of soil, but they prefer slightly acidic well-drained soil. They enjoy moist soil but don’t like for their roots to soak in water.

Fertilizer

Viburnums aren’t heavy feeders, but young shrubs can benefit from a once-yearly application of slow-release tree and shrub fertilizer in the spring. For the amount to use, follow product label instructions. After they are well-established, they don’t require fertilizer.

Pruning

Most of these plants don’t require pruning other than to remove dead or diseased branches. If you decide to prune your viburnums, do it immediately after flowering; waiting too long can sacrifice some of next year’s blooms. Don’t remove more than one-third of the good wood in any annual pruning session.

Pest and Problems

Viburnum shrubs attract a variety of pests in the garden, including spider mites, thrips, and aphids, which can be treated with insecticidal soap, and scale, which can be scraped off or treated with insecticide.

Viburnum leaf beetles, Asiatic garden beetles, and weevils are all attracted to viburnum shrubs. In the shade, be mindful of foliar diseases like black spot.

How to Propagate Viburnum

Propagate viburnum using softwood or hardwood cuttings. Softwood cuttings taken in mid-to-late spring are easier to work with than hardwood cuttings taken in the fall. In either case, take a 6-inch cutting (for softwood) or a 10-inch cutting (for hardwood) from the plant. Remove the leaves from the bottom half of the cutting, dip the end in rooting hormone, and insert the cutting several inches into a planting medium of peat and perlite or similar. Keep the container in a warm location and water when the planting medium feels dry. The softwood cutting will develop a root system in about six weeks, while the hardwood cutting may take longer.

Types of Viburnum

Arrowwood Viburnum

Viburnum dentatum is an upright shrub native to areas of North America. It offers a good show of orange-yellow fall color, clusters of white flowers in spring to late summer, and blue-black fruits in fall. It grows 10 feet tall and wide. Zones 3-8

Burkwood Viburnum

Viburnum burkwoodii is a rounded, evergreen to deciduous shrub (depending on area) that develops domed clusters of pink buds that open to very fragrant tubular white flowers. The red fruit ripens to black in the fall. It grows 8 feet tall and wide. Zones 4-8

European Cranberry Bush

Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’ features lobed, maple leaf-like, dark green foliage and clusters of bright red berries following the lacecap flowers. It grows 15 feet tall and 12 feet wide. Zones 4-8

‘Wentworth’ American Cranberry Bush

Viburnum trilobum ‘Wentworth’ is a colorful selection that features rich red autumn foliage and yellow-red fruits that ripen to deep red. It grows 15 feet tall by 12 feet wide. Zones 2-7

American Cranberry Bush

Viburnum trilobum is native to areas of North America and features maple-like leaves that show good fall color in shades of yellow to red. Lacecap-type blooms in spring are followed by edible red fruits. It grows 15 feet tall and 12 feet wide. Zones 2-7

‘Allegheny’ Viburnum

Viburnum x rhytidophylloides ‘Allegheny’ is a rounded, semi-evergreen shrub with long, dark green leaves and an abundance of yellowish-white flower clusters in the spring and red fruits in the fall. It grows 10 feet tall and 12 feet wide. Zones 5-8

‘Aurora’ Korean Spice Viburnum

Viburnum carlesii ‘Aurora’ features large clusters of extremely fragrant tubular flowers, white to pink-blushed white, in mid-to-late spring. The toothed, dark green leaves redden in fall when grown in colder climates. It grows 8 feet tall and wide. Zones 5-8

‘Aurantiacum’ Tea Viburnum

Viburnum setigerum ‘Aurantiacum’ is an upright, deciduous shrub with dark green to blue-green foliage that produces white flowers in spring, followed by abundant orange-red fruits. It grows 12 feet tall and 8 feet wide. Zones 5-7

Doublefile Viburnum

Viburnum plicatum tomentosum offers horizontal branches laden with flattened lacecap flowers in late spring, followed by sprays of red fruit that ripen to blue-black. Plants grow 10 feet tall and 12 feet wide. Zones 4-9

Chinese Snowball Viburnum

Viburnum macrocephalum offers big, pompom clusters of snowy-white flowers in late spring on a rounded, deciduous shrub that can also be trained as a small tree. It does not produce fruit and grows 15 feet tall and wide. Zones 7-9

Korean Spice Viburnum

Viburnum carlesii is a bushy, deciduous shrub that bears exceptionally fragrant white flowers in mid-to-late spring. The toothed, dark green leaves redden in fall. It grows 6 feet tall and wide. Zones 5-8

‘Summer Snowflake’ Viburnum

Viburnum plicatum ‘Summer Snowflake’ is a compact selection with white flowers in spring and again in summer and fall. It displays excellent autumn foliage color and reddish fruits. It grows 5 feet tall and wide. Zones 5-8

Judd Viburnum

Viburnum x juddii is a rounded shrub highlighted by dark green leaves that may redden before dropping in fall. Clusters of fragrant pink-tinged flowers open from pink buds in mid-to-late spring. It grows 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Zones 5-9

‘Shasta’ Doublefile Viburnum

Viburnum plicatum tomentosum ‘Shasta’ bears big white flowers from spring to early summer on horizontal branches. It grows 6 feet high and 12 feet wide. Zones 4-8