The Garden Club October 20, 2007

Viburnums - Something for Everyone
Viburnums are a large and diverse group of shrubs, so diverse that you could have an entire garden of just Viburnums and no two would look alike. Viburnums are related to honeysuckles, so it is no surprise that many are grown for their fragrant flowers; but they are also planted for other reasons - their beautiful foliage, autumn color and delicate fruits. Carroll Gardens carries many varieties of Viburnums and today we are featuring the most effective for fall fruiting display, Viburnum setigerum.

Viburnum setigerum - Tea Viburnum
Viburnum setigerum is the perfect plant to add interest to your fall garden. The foliage, which is a soft blue-green in the summer, will turn shades of orange, red and maroon in the autumn. In May, white 2 inch flat-topped flower clusters will appear. These flowers are beautiful, but it is not until September-October that the Tea Viburnum really shines. This is when the persistent, glossy, fire engine red fruit clusters are borne, making it the best and most well-known Viburnum for a showy fruit display. This brilliant display continues into winter until the berries are devoured by the birds. The weight of the fruits often cause the multi-stemmed branches to arch over part way, drawing even more attention to this striking deciduous shrub. Unlike many Viburnums which give their best fruiting display where summers are cool and winters are cold, Tea Viburnum fruits well even where summers are hot and winters are warm. Incidentally, Tea Viburnum derives its name from the belief that Chinese monks used its leaves to brew tea.

Viburnum setigerum is highly adaptable to a variety of growing conditions making it extremely easy to grow. It will grow best in average well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Expect your Viburnum to grow in an upright vase-shaped habit 8-12 feet tall and 6-9 feet wide. If pruning is necessary, this can be done in very early spring as it flowers on new growth. Viburnum setigerum is particularly effective when planted in mass plantings or in groups as a shrub border, informal hedge or as a screen. As most of the fruit display is on the top two-thirds of the shrub, I often dress down Tea Viburnum plantings, especially individual specimens, with low evergreens.

Planting and Care

Hardy in Zones 5-7 into the colder portions of Zone 8.
For best results plant in fall or spring.
Prefers full sun to part shade.
Plant 8 feet apart in any moist, but well-drained, soil.
Fertilize with Plant-tone and Kelp Meal in early spring and late fall.

Five foot plants from 7-gallon pots for $48.85

Viburnum setigerum

Garden Club Questions and Answers

Question: I didn't get to pull the Bag Worms from our evergreens until this weekend. The bags all seem to be empty. Am I wasting my time?

Answer: No. Although the insects are gone, many of these bags contain eggs which will hatch in late spring to produce the next generation of Bag Worms. Removing and destroying the bags now will save much more work next year.

Question: I ordered one of your Aphrodite Witch Hazels. My question is, I already have a yellow witch hazel. In some seasons, the leaves hang-on well into the spring, thus ruining the flower display. In other seasons, the foliage is all gone by winter. What can I do to be sure the foliage drops early every year?

Answer: It's all in the genetics, the age of the plant, and the weather - none of which you can control. Some hybrid witch hazel varieties, such as Aphrodite, drop their foliage cleanly every year. Other varieties do not. On these varieties, younger, vigorous-growing, plants tend to hold onto their old leaves longer than more mature plants. Finally a warm autumn, quickly followed by a freezing cold snap, will cause the leaves to hang on rather than totally drop cleanly in autumn.

Question: Our evergreens are probably planted a bit too close to the foundation. They were planted by the previous owner about 15 years ago so I decided not to do anything about it. We are in a severe drought so I decided to water them. I noticed the soil has pulled away from the foundation leaving a deep gap right against the wall. It is about an inch wide. I am sure this gap wasn't there in the spring. Is this something to worry about? Why did the gap come now after all of these years?

Answer: I have seen this situation myself once or twice before. As the plant roots extracted all the water from the soil, it shrank and pulled away from the foundation. In the open this contraction might have evidenced itself as random cracks. Once the soil remoistens it will swell and the space will fill in. However, if you have a heavy sudden rain, water may puddle against the foundation before the soil swells. Nor can you be certain the soil will pack tightly against the foundation when it swells. To prevent water from finding its way into your basement, I suggest you pack top soil firmly into the crevice. Mound it up a little higher than the surrounding soil.

Question: I am going to be planting daffodils and tulips this weekend. How often do I need to water them?

Answer: Dormant flower bulbs do not need as much water as growing plants. Give them a thorough soaking at planting, making sure the soil reaches down to where the bulbs are planted. Water thoroughly only every few weeks if we have insufficient rain.