Plant of the Week: Viburnum

Use these shrubs for their welcome winter flowers, fruit and foliage

Viburnums are one of the workhorse shrubs of the garden and while most flower from late spring into early summer, there are some that really make an impact in winter. Besides flowers, viburnums also contribute with colourful and long-lasting fruit and decorative foliage, with evergreen species such as Viburnum tinus making an important visual contribution in winter, while also making a useful hedge.

Although mostly white, or pale pink, the individual small flowers of viburnum are massed into clusters or globular heads with many, particularly those that are winter flowering, also possessing a sweet or musky scent. After the flowers many produce attractive berries in shades of red, yellow and black to metallic blue. Starting in autumn, some like the guelder rose, V. opulus, continue to shine into winter.

Viburnums are adaptable when it comes to the soil they are placed in, as long as they’re not waterlogged or excessively dry. They will tolerate sun through to full shade, although their flowering performance will be hampered if conditions are continually gloomy.

V. opulus and V. tinus are prone to attacks by the creamy, black-spotted larvae and adults of viburnum beetle, which can skeletonise foliage. Use organic insecticides containing pyrethrins and fatty acids when grubs are seen in spring, but

stop spraying when plants are flowering to protect pollinators.