Viburnums FOR YEAR ROUND INTEREST

WHEN YOU ARE DESIGNING A GARDEN, THE FIRST THING TO THINK ABOUT IS STRUCTURE THAT WILL BE THE BACKBONE OF YOUR PLANTING SCHEME AND GIVE ALL ROUND STRUCTURE AND INTEREST

Shrubs are a good choice because they make sizable plants and generally have a long season of interest.

When it comes to shrubs it is difficult to think of another genus that has so many diverse species and cultivars that give interest the whole year round, is easy to care for, and will grow in a wide range of soil types and microclimates. Many have scented flowers, some flower all winter long, some are evergreen, some are deciduous, many produce berries that are just as decorative as the flowers.

The common name for Viburnum in French is ‘Viorne’ but the scientific names are used by those in the profession and are universal.

Viburnums need very little special care and attention and can be planted in sun or semi shade. The evergreen ones are particularly good in full sun as they mainly originate from warmer climates. The deciduous varieties may scorch in very hot sun, so a little shade is helpful. They can be grown

Caroline has been a lecturer in horticulture for 20 years and now runs a nursery and ‘garden craft’ courses in the Haute-Vienne at Le jardin créatif in a mixed border or a shrub border, or woodland garden. Most varieties will tolerate chalky soils and poor soils.

Viburnums need very little special care and attention and can be planted in sun or semi shade

As we move towards winter, I will start with a few of the best Viburnum species for winter interest.

Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’. This hybrid first originated at Bodnant gardens in Wales (hence the species name) created by the head gardener Charles Puddle in 1935. There are several significant cultivars which produce pink, highly scented flowers from late autumn to mid-spring on bare stems. ‘Dawn’ has very prolific deep pink flowers and is one of the best. This deciduous shrub can reach up to 2.5 metres over time, and as well as the flowers the autumn colour of the leaves is also a spectacle. The flowering branches can be cut in winter for flower arrangements, the perfume will fill the room. It requires very little special care - if you need to prune it this should be done in early spring straight after it has finished flowering.

Viburnum tinus is an evergreen with deep green shiny densely packed leaves, growing up to 3 metres high; it can be used as informal hedging or screening. It also produces flowers throughout most of the winter months, the flowers are white and relatively unscented, but the cultivar ‘Eve Price' has a pink tint to the petals and is a more compact variety. Again, very little special care is needed and light pruning should be carried out after flowering.

Viburnum davidii has a lower growing, spreading habit with long, shiny, pointed, deeply veined leaves and white flowers. This plant is dioecious (meaning that it has separately gendered individuals, in other words some plants are male and some plants are female). If you have both a male and a female, the female plants produce opalescent, shiny blue berries. This plant was first introduced into cultivation by Père David, a French botanist who made many plant hunting trips in the 1800s and is also responsible for introducing Buddleja davidii and Acer davidii – hence the species names.

As spring arrives, we have another group of Viburnum to add scent, colour, and structure to the garden.

Viburnum x carlcephalum is a deciduous to semi evergreen shrub bearing domed terminal corymbs of highly scented flowers in late winter/early spring.

Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’ is a deciduous shrub which is grown for its form as well as for the flowers and autumn colour. The branches form distinctive tiers and in early to mid-spring they are adorned with large flat lace cap type white flowers along the length of the branches. While the flowers are not scented, they are very showy and it makes a spectacular sight. This shrub makes an excellent specimen – i.e., planted on its own or at least with a little space around it in order to appreciate its distinct habit. Try to avoid pruning this one at all, you will lose the distinctive shape, it should only ever need any dead or damaged branches removing.

Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’. Known commonly as the ‘snowball tree’ as it bears huge round ‘cymes’ of large sterile white flowers that turn a little pink as they begin to fade. As the petals drop to the ground, they look like someone has scattered confetti! The attractive lobed leaves also give a second display of autumn colour before they fall. This species can grow up to 4 metres high and makes a good specimen plant or as part of a shrub border to add height.

There are many more cultivated varieties of Viburnum, but these are the ones that we have found to be most suited to our climate as they’re all perfectly hardy.

We have mature examples of several of the varieties I have described in our garden and in pots for sale in the nursery. Check out our plant list on our website: https://lejardincreatif.net