Newsletter
October 2009............
Welcome to the October newsletter.
Despite the excessive damp at the moment,
we still feel Spring is in the air. Actually,
I blame one of my customers for the rain.
I was working alone one day (one rather
dry day) and she kindly came and helped
me by watering all our perennials and other
plants. It hasn't stopped raining since.......!
I'm sure there's a lesson there somewhere
- just not sure what!!
With Spring in mind, we've included some
information about the wonderful range of
viburnums available, a pesky little caterpillar
and, of course, our October gardening calendar.
VERSATILE
VIBURNUM
What an impressive genus – about
150 species of evergreen and deciduous trees
and shrubs. Some of the finest ornamental
shrubs in our gardens belong to this genus
and over the years many gorgeous hybrids
have been raised.
Most have either white or pinkish flowers.
They will be either flat clusters, flat
umbels surrounded by larger flowers resembling
lacecap hydrangeas or dome-shaped, snowball
clusters.
Almost all have attractive fruits.
They are an unfussy group, easily grown
in any soil except poor ground that dries
out over summer. The lush, tropical leaves
of Viburnum odorattisimum ‘Emerald
Lustre’ will be damaged by frost.
Viburnum davidii and Viburnum
tinus varieties (used extensively as
hedging) can be prone to attack from thrip
in summer. The results of this give the
leaves a silvery appearance with tiny dark
brown excreta on the undersides. This is
easily controlled by spraying with
Yates Confidor regularly
from late spring before significant damage
occurs.
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| V. 'Emerald Lustre' |
Viburnum davidii |
Viburnum tinus |
Pruning is only necessary to preserve the
desired shape, or for the rejuvenation of
any old or straggly bush which can be cut
back heavily.
Possibly one of the best known is the common
Snowball Tree, Viburnum opulus ‘Sterile’.
This will grow into a large, robust shrub
covered in white globose blooms, fantastic
to cut and bring indoors. However, I prefer
the rarer Chinese snowball, Viburnum
macrocephalum. The apple green flowers
change over spring to lime, cream and eventually
white. Each flower is up to 150mm across.
This is in my new “woodland”
garden with ferns, Euphorbia robbiae,
Polygonatum, Acorus ogon ‘Variegata’
and Astrantia major. The lovely
fresh lime green leaves of Hosta plantaginea
‘Grandiflora’ sets this off
perfectly with the bonus of beautifully
scented flowers in summer.
For scent alone I would select the Korean
beauty, Viburnum carlessii (unfortunately,
not easy to acquire). It has oval, downy
leaves, dull green above and grayish below.
The pink clusters of buds open into starry
flowers, developing in tight clusters up
to 75cm across and emit a heady, sweet fragrance.
It makes a medium sized shrub about 1.2-2m
and will grow remarkably well near the coast.
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| Viburnum carlessii
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Viburnum x carlcephalum |
Viburnum x burkwoodii |
Viburnum x carlcephalum, a cross
between these two most beautiful of the
species, is probably the finest cultivar
around. It has resulted in a medium sized,
compact shrub, semi-deciduous with large
rounded flowerheads up to 125mm across,
pure white and delightfully fragrant.
Another worthy hybrid is Viburnum x
burkwoodii and the selections ‘Anne
Russell’ and ‘Fulbrook’
all of which have richly fragrant waxy,
white flowers.
Viburnum plicatum ‘Mareissii’
is a stunning sight in spring. Wonderful,
white, lacecap-like flowers clothe the horizontally
tiered branches. The leaves are gorgeous
too; fresh spring green and deeply pleated
turning red-purple in autumn before falling.
It makes an amazing specimen plant and works
particularly well in Japanese-style and
minimalist gardens.
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| ‘Mareissii’ |
‘Lanarth’ |
‘Summer Snowflake’ |
Another fine form is Viburnum plicatum
‘Lanarth’ which resembles ‘Mareisii’
but is stronger in growth and less horizontal
in branch habit. A dainty and petite form
of plicatum is ‘Summer Snowflake’
that flowers from spring through to autumn.
It smothers itself in single white flowers
like large snowflakes.
I love plants with “bullate”
foliage. This botanical description applies
to the leaves of Viburnum japonicum
which are heavily puckered and veined, bronze
when young, developing to a luxurious glossy
green. It has clusters of small white flowers
in spring and scarlet berries on more mature
plants. This is not a specimen plant but
is extremely useful in the background or
as a bulky filler in the shade.
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| Viburnum japonicum |
Viburnum trilobum |
Viburnum trilobum |
The American Cranberry Bush (Viburnum
trilobum) is native to much of Canada.
The bright red fruits look a lot like cranberries
and persist well into winter. Like cranberries,
they are edible and sometimes used to make
jelly. The maple-like leaves turn a rich
burgundy in autumn.
Of course, there are so many others but
these are my pick. These choice shrubs would
make a valuable contribution to any garden.
