Maple-leaved Viburnum

Just a few words to announce the seeds of Viburnum acerifolium, my favourite Viburnum, for many reasons.

First, this eastern North American native shrub is very  hardy and adaptable, growing from sun to shade, in deciduous and mixed woods. In the gardens it can be planted almost anywhere, being tolerant of many soils, especially enjoying rocky, sandy soils, and being drought tolerant after it gets established.

Then, the white flowers are sought by many pollinators in mid to late spring. In the fall the maple-shaped leaves take beautiful shades of red to magenta and orange, depending on the sun exposure; more sun leads to deeper colors. What a beautiful contrast with the blue-black fruits!

Maple-leaved Viburnum spreads by rhizomes, which can be considered its only ‘defect’ when it comes to garden cultivation, but on the other hand a grouping of plants in many situations can be actually desirable, providing cover for the songbirds.

Viburnum acerifolium and Viburnum rafinesquianum are the smallest native arrowwoods species, being best suitable for smaller city gardens.

BotanyCa Seed List is mainly inclined towards perennials but there are a few native, and non-native, shrubs & vines hard to resist and especially useful for small and medium size gardens.
They are offered whenever possible: Cornus rugosa, Daphne mezereum, Lindera benzoin, Lonicera dioica, Calycanthus floridus, Ceanothus americanus... to mention just a few.
For many of these, the best sowing time is right now!