FNPS Plant Database

Viburnum obovatum

Walter's viburnum "Withlacoochee"

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

Nomenclature

Common Name:

Walter's viburnum "Withlacoochee"

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Viburnum obovatum

Family:

Adoxaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

6-15  ft by tall  by 6-8 ft wide, may sucker to form clones.

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.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Showy Fruits, Hurricane Wind Resistance

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen plant, multi-trunked. 

Considerations:

Availability:

Big Box Stores, Quality Nurseries, Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales

Propagation:

Cuttings. This is a cultivar, so don't attempt to reproduce from seed.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Usually moist, occasional inundation ---to--- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Caterpillars, Birds, Mammals

Larval host for the spring azure butterfly ( Celastrina ladon ). Attracts many pollinators. Fruits eaten by birds and small mammals.

Birds and other wildlife consume the fruit.

Native Habitats:

Cultivated as an ornamental.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

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.

Citations:

Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell.  1999.  Native Florida Plants.  Gulf Publishing Company.  Houston, TX.



Huegel, Craig, N.  2010.  Native plant landscaping for Florida wildlife.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL. (wildlife uses)



Institute for Regional Conservation.  Accessed 2021.  Natives for Your Neighborhood.   https://regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/plantdetail.asp?tx=Vibuobov.  (salt tolerance)



Nelson, Gil.  2003.  Florida's Best Landscape Plants. Association of Florida Native Nurseries.



Osorio, Rufino. 2001. A gardener's guide to Florida's native Plants.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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