Viburnum dentatum is one of the best shrubs for both late spring inflorescences and late summer blue berries. Arrowwood Viburnum can be an excellent deciduous informal or formal hedge.
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F E A T U R E S |
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Form
-medium-sized to large-sized ornamental shrub
-maturing at about 9' tall x 9' wide, although larger under optimum conditions
-upright oval growth habit in youth, becoming arching, spreading, and suckering with age
-medium growth rate (except for the basal shoots which are rapidly growing) |
Foliage
-medium-green to dark green, often shiny to lustrous, opposite, narrow ovate to ovate to broad-ovate, dentate, with veins that are somewhat impressed
-apex has a long or short acuminate tip, while the base is cuneate, rounded, or cordate, and the blade is either flat or cupped
-autumn color is highly variable, ranging from faded green to yellowish green to shades of yellow, orange, burgundy, or red |
Flowers
-creamy-white, in late May and early June, quite showy as flat-topped inflorescences of about 3" diameter and effective for 2 weeks, being the last Viburnum to bloom |
Fruit
-deep porcelain blue to blue-purple, maturing in Aug. and sometimes abscising in Oct., but readily eaten by the birds and usually not persistent for very long
-fruits are in flat-topped clusters, can be profusely borne, and very attractive when viewed up-close
fruit stalks are usually persistent into the next year |
Twig
-gray-brown, noticeably lenticeled, and striated with maturation, with winter buds that are smooth, slightly elongated, and with scales
-new growth from basal suckers is very straight (American Indians used the new shoot growth for their arrow shafts, hence, the common name) |
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Trunk
-old branches arch with age, in part hiding the legginess of the older trunks, along with the constantly emerging basal suckers
-trunks remain subtlely striated, but become gray and fissuring with maturity |
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C U L T
U R E
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Culture
-full sun to partial shade
-prefers moist, well-drained soils of average fertility in full sun, but is highly adaptable to dry soils, poor soils, soils of various pH, heat, drought, and pollution (very urban tolerant)
-propagated by rooted stem cuttings or by seeds
-virtually no disease or pest problems
-abundantly available, primarily in B&B form |
Hardiness
-zones 2 to 8
Origin
-native to Eastern North America
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U S A G E |
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Assets
-very urban tolerant
-creamy inflorescences in late spring, glossy dark green foliage in summer, and blue fruits in late summer and early autumn
-autumn color is often outstanding among certain cultivars and sporadically among the species forms
takes well to frequent shearing (if used as a formal hedge)
-wildlife attraction (especially birds)
-cold hardiness
Liabilities
-profuse basal suckering with age can become a frequent maintenance chore to remove, if the shrub is used as a specimen plant (rather than as a hedge or in a naturalizing situation) |
Function
-formal or informal hedge, border, entranceway, foundation, utilitarian, group planting, naturalizing, or specimen shrub
Texture
-medium texture in foliage and when bare
-thick density in foliage and when bare |
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S E L
E C T I 0 N S |
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Varieties
and Cultivars
- Search
OSU PlantFacts for additional plants in this species
Alternates
-good formal or informal hedges (Ribes alpinum, Spiraea x vanhouttei, Taxus x media, Viburnum x rhytidophylloides, etc.)
-shrubs with blue or blue-purple berries in summer or autumn (Cornus racemosa, Mahonia aquifolium) |