Viburnum trilobum

Description

Highbush cranberry has many qualities that recommend it for our gardens: maple-like leaves, turning red-purple in the fall, large inflorescences with white flowers in the spring, plus attractive clusters of red, shiny fruits in October.

A small size, native shrub with high wildlife value that can be grown in a variety of situations: sun to part-shade locations in moist or medium moist substrates. The fruits are edible, tart-like in late fall and can be used for jams, sauces…
As opposed, the fruits of V. opulus, a western Eurasian shrub that closely resembles V. trilobum, are bitter and not edible (at least not for humans).

Viburnum trilobum has been classified at some point as a variety or subspecies of Viburnum opulus (Guelder rose). The most distinct character that helps differentiate the two are the leaf petiole glands: convex (raised, rounded, or taller than wide) in V. trilobum. They are concave ((indented, bowl- or cup-shaped) in V. opulus.

Germination: Viburnum species require a warm/moist stratification (2-3 months) followed by a cold/moist stratification for germination. So, depending on the sowing time, germination may happen in 2 years. Seeds bought in late fall/winter can be kept in the fridge and sown outdoors in late summer.