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Viburnum trilobum |
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| Synonym(s) |
Viburnum opulus var. americanum |
| Common name |
American cranberry bush |
| Family |
adoxaceae |
| Life cycle |
shrub (Z2) |
| Flowers |
white/green (May) |
| Size |
10' |
| Light |
sun-shade |
| Cultural notes |
prefers moist soil |
Despite the common name, this is quite a different plant from the cranberry whose fruit we eat in various guises at Thanksgiving. In fact, I've never spotted any fruit on ours, which is by now quite a large shrub at the back of our orchard. In spring, it is loaded with flat flowerheads - fertile greenish flowers in the center, surrounded by showy white sterile ones. In summer, it finds favor with crickets, who like to hide in its dense mass of foliage and sing away. Finally, in fall, the leaves turn deep purple.
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Viburnum trilobum
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Peggy | Dec 11, 2005 | Ah-ha! Finally an identity to the plant I'm growing from a seed swap labeled only cranberry.
Very likely - but several species of viburnum have bush cranberry as their common name, so it's not a definite ID. |
| ray | May 20, 2011 | If you haven't seen berries yet, you may have a sterile cultivar. We have the native V. trilobum on the edge of a cattail wetland in our back yard. They are also about 10' tall and are loaded with berries every summer. The birds love them. |
| Dave | Mar 19, 2012 | Odd you haven't had berries. We had berries on ours even when we had only one cultivar. Recently added a "Red Wing" variety. Really a knock out shrub! Now there are many berries, and the squirrels seem to be the biggest fans, but only once the berries have frozen a few times. Our garden is in CT, so a little north of you. If you have the room, try "Red Wing" - very nice in spring esp with red tinged new leaves. |
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