Viburnum obovatum
Photo by Paul Rebman. Photograph belongs to the photographer who allows use for FNPS purposes only. Please contact the photographer for all other uses.
Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
10A 8A 8B 9A 9B
2002-2022, Copyright Florida Native Plant Society
Walter's Viburnum
Adoxaceae
Plant Specifics
| 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). | |
| Habitats: | Riverine forests, swamp borders, hydric hammocks. Also cultivated as an ornamental. |
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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light: | Full Sun, Part Shade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: |
always floodedextremely dry |
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| 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 Tolerance: | Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil/Substrate: | Humus (organic, upland), Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wildlife
Birds and other wildlife consume the fruit.
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).