Viburnum obovatum
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Walter's Viburnum
Adoxaceae
Plant Specifics
| Form: | Shrub | |
| Size: | 10-15 (30) ft by tall by 10-15 ft wide with new plants growing from rhyzomes (underground stems) to form clones of substantial width unless removed. | |
| Life Span: | Long-lived perennial | |
| Flower Color: | White | |
| Fruit Color: | Red,black | |
| Phenology: | Tardily deciduous leafing out shortly after the old leaves fall. Blooms late winter-early spring. Fruits ripen late summer-early fall. Life span likely >50 yrs (Nelson 2003). | |
| Noted for: | Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Hurricane wind resistance |
Landscaping
| Recommended Uses: | Specimen plant, hedge or screen plant. Can be allowed to form a thicket, sheared, or kept pruned into a tree. Fast growing. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Propagation: | Cuttings. Seeds require scarification and may take several years to germinate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Availability: | Big box stores, Native nurseries, FNPS plant sales, Quality nurseries | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light: | Full Sun, Part Shade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: |
always floodedextremely dry |
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| (Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Somewhat long very dry periods) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: | Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Somewhat long very dry periods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Water Flooding Tolerance: | Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance: | Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil or other substrate: | Humus (organic, upland), Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil pH: | Acidic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ecology
| Wildlife: |
Birds and other wildlife consume the fruit. | |
| Insects: | Larval host for the spring azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon). Both native and non-native viburnums (Viburnum spp.) attract a wide range of pollinators with strong scents that promise either a nectar or pollen reward. Scarab beetles of the genus Cetonia are particularly interesting viburnum pollinators, possessing branched hairs on their bodies that are similar to pollen-collecting hairs found on bees. These hairs ensure a better chance of cross-pollination for self-sterile viburnum species. Viburnums with long corolla tubes and sweet scents are most often pollinated by species belonging to the order Lepidoptera, while viburnums with shorter corolla tubes and muskier odors receive frequent visits from flies and small bees. This relationship corresponds to the size of the insect mouthparts. Most viburnums produce very little nectar despite the wide range of pollinators.. The primary reward, at least for bees, is not nectar but pollen (Arnold Arboretum). | |
| Native Habitats: | Riverine forests, swamp borders, hydric hammocks. Also cultivated as an ornamental. |
Distribution and Planting Zones
Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
10A 8A 8B 9A 9B
USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures
Comments
| General Comments: | The name Walter's viburnum honors Thomas Walter (1740-89), English-born planter of South Carolina, who described this species in his Flora Caroliniana. |