Viburnum dentatum in Bloom! (Arrowood Viburnum)

Viburnum dentatum is one of my favorite shrubs in our garden.  It’s not as showy as the Japanese dappled willow or the purple beautyberry.  It’s not as flashy as roses nor does it provide year round color like the ‘Otto Luyken’ cherry laurels.  But it does have an important role in our garden.  This viburnum never fails to flower prolifically.  Which means that the birds enjoy it immensely when the flowers fade and turn into a bounty of blue berries! The berries last only a few short days because once they ripen up the feast begins!

The flowers are pretty nifty too.  Fluffy white clouds of flowers cover the plant offering food for the bees and other pollinators. I watched yesterday as a tiger swallowtail butterfly landed and helped itself to the nectar.

Even when not in bloom the glossy green foliage makes the Viburnum dentatum worth planting in the garden.  It’s common name is arrowood viburnum which comes from the fact that Native Americans used the suckering branches to make arrow shafts.  This viburnum likes full sun but can tolerate part shade and thrives in zones 3-8. 

It gets wide quickly and can overtake other plantings planted too close.  The penstemon in this picture to the right needs moved to a better location! (But it is a pretty effect!)

Arrowood Viburnum Propagation

Arrowood viburnum suckers a lot and can be easily divided by removing the suckers.  You can propagate this viburnum through cuttings from stem tips, greenwood, hardwood or layering.  It’s fairly easy to get a new plant started.  You can also grow them from seed if you can beat the birds to the berries – good luck with that one!