If you want a yard that is teeming with life, plant viburnum. The plant itself is striking, with beautiful foliage and bold flowers that attract pollinators. The amazing floral display is followed by red or black berries that attract birds, squirrels, and other wildlife. Because they have dense foliage, taller varieties are often used as a natural hedge or privacy screen. They also work well as a specimen plant, or as part of a mixed border. That dense growth makes an ideal location for birds and small animals to secret themselves away in your yard!
Viburnum 'Pink Dawn' Arrowwood
What exactly is Viburnum?
Viburnum is a beautiful flowering plant that is commonly used in landscapes throughout the country, including in Utah. It’s a versatile plant that can be used in a variety of settings and has a range of different cultivars. You may be familiar with some of them: snowball bush, American Cranberry, European Cranberry (both of which have edible fruits, but DON’T expect them to taste like cranberries), Arrowwood (Pink Dawn Arrowwood is the cultivar featured at the top of this article), and several more! Because there is so much variety in the viburnum family, you can easily find the perfect fit for your ideal landscape.
Viburnum will grow to a wide range of sizes depending on the cultivar. Some can reach as high as 10 to 12 feet tall and 8 to 10 feet wide, while others will only reach 1 to 2 feet tall and wide. They’re very hardy plants. Depending on the cultivar, they can reach a hardiness of zone 5, 4, 3, and even zone 2!
One of the nicest things about Viburnum is how easy it is to care for. This low-maintenance plant prefers full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil, however, it can tolerate a range of different soil types, including sandy, loamy, and clay soils. It’s also relatively drought-tolerant once established, although it should be watered regularly during its first year in the ground. If you water your yard with secondary water from Utah lake, you will have great success with some varieties of viburnum, but not all. Luckily, our online catalog will indicate which cultivars can tolerate the dissolved solids found in Utah Lake.
'Christom' Blue Muffin Arrowwood has creamy white flowers in spring, followed by striking blue fruit in late summer.
If you are considering adding Viburnum to your Utah landscape, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, you should make sure that you choose the right cultivar for your specific needs and preferences. Consider the size of your landscape, the amount of sunlight it receives, and the overall aesthetic you are trying to achieve when choosing your Viburnum cultivar. You should also make sure that you plant your Viburnum at the right time of year, which is typically in the spring or fall when the plant is dormant. That doesn’t mean you can’t plant them when they’re actively growing. You’ll just need to watch them closely for stress (as you would any plant), and make sure you aren’t over or under watering them.
