lentago - Nannyberry Viburnum () ------ is an upright or small Trunk noted for its elongated and valvate winter floral , -strongly multi-stemmed to multi-trunked and early May creamy-white large , red to suckering from the base and nearby roots, but can be black bird-attracting berries in autumn, and arching maintained as a few-trunked or single leader small to naturalizing growth habit with age. tree if the suckers are periodically nipped, starting at an early age FEATURES -branches are straight and upright in youth, of gray- Form brown color, smooth, and with noticeable lenticels, -large ornamental shrub or small ornamental tree but becoming a platy with age maturing at up to 18' tall x 10' wide -shrub form quickly becomes leggy with age if -upright broad-columnar growth habit suckers are constantly pruned away, but suckers in youth, becoming an upright thicket create a thicket or colony if allowed to persist, and if shrub form, or becoming rounded to effectively cover the central trunks of the large shrub arching-pendulous if tree form -medium growth rate USAGE Culture Function -full sun to partial shade -informal hedge when placed in a row, but more -adaptable to poor soils, compacted soils, soils of often found as a utilitarian ( screen in front various pH, permanently moist soils, dry soils, of utility boxes), border, entranceway, foundation, moderate heat, drought, and pollution woodland edge, or naturalizing shrub -propagated by rooted stem cuttings, seeds, or -small ornamental tree when limbed up and transplanting of suckers maintained in non-suckering form, found at -Honeysuckle Family, with no serious pest or disease entranceways, large raised planters, large problems, except for powdery mildew as an annual foundations, borders, or as a lawn specimen cosmetic disease, which usually occurs in late Texture Aug. or early Sept. and is persistent until leaf drop -medium texture in foliage and when bare -moderately available in B&B form, and primarily -average to thick density in foliage, and open to sold as a multi-stemmed shrub, but also trained into average density when bare, being less dense in youth single-leader or multi-trunked tree forms Assets Foliage -showy large inflorescences in spring -medium- to dark green, shiny, opposite, elliptical, -can be limbed up into tree form status and serrated, with a widened and - attract wildlife in autumn concave, winged that has -rapid growth rate for a Viburnum warty, undulating margins -cold hardiness -autumn color is a mixture of faded -urban tolerant shades of green, purple, red, and Liabilities yellow, along with white from the -powdery mildew is a cosmetic foliage problem by powdery mildew, and is ornamentally poor late summer if sited in poor air circulation areas or semi-shady areas -creamy-white, flat-topped inflorescences in early -gets leggy as a shrub with age May are up to 5" in diameter, and eventually separate -abundant suckering with age, forming a large thicket in the middle as several sectors containing many or colony (may be considered an asset in naturalized miniature flowers situations) Fruits -may get much larger and broader than expected with -a colorful mixture of light green, pale yellow, and age red-pink fruits in the same cluster slowly change to Habitat blue-black and are bloomy (glaucous-surfaced) at Zones 2 to 8 maturity, often profusely borne from Aug. through Native to Eastern early Dec.; not ornamental from a distance -wildlife (especially birds) will consume the fruits SELECTIONS throughout autumn Alternates Twigs -large with showy inflorescences in mid- -stems and young branches are brown and smooth, spring (Rhododendron catawbiense, Spiraea x sparsely branched in youth, and only become vanhouttei, Syringa vulgaris, etc.) relatively dense and twiggy with maturity -shrubs that can be limbed up (or grafted onto -winter buds are long, smooth, and a good standards) to become specimen small (Cornus identification feature, with the more narrow racemosa, Forsythia x intermedia, Hibiscus syriacus, vegetative buds being valvate with 2 outer scales, Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora', Syringa meyeri, while the much larger floral buds are distinctly , , etc.) swelled at their base and taper to a very long apex, Cultivars – Variants – Related with the 2 outer scales creating a duck-billed -the straight species is practically the only form appearance available, primarily in shrub form but also in tree form