Viburnum
Laurustinus
Laurustinus
Water well through the first two summers; established plants are quite drought-tolerant.
Care
Standard viburnum siting.
Once established.
Adaptable, well-drained soil of most types.
Trim to shape after flowering; can be pruned harder if needed to renovate, and tolerates this well.
A general feed over a mulch in spring on poor soil, and nothing on a decent one. An established evergreen viburnum is a tough, self-sufficient shrub; feeding is for young plants and containers.
Semi-ripe cuttings in late summer, in gritty compost in a covered pot. Low branches also layer themselves where they rest on the ground, and a rooted piece can simply be severed and moved.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchLight feed as growth resumes. how ›
- AprilTrim to shape after flowering. how ›
- OctoberEnjoy autumn/winter berries, valuable for wildlife.
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchLight feed as growth resumes. how ›
- AprilTrim to shape after flowering. how ›
- OctoberEnjoy autumn/winter berries, valuable for wildlife.
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Skeletonised leaves from larvae and adult beetles.
What to do. Remove larvae by hand in spring.
Guelder roseJapanese snowball
Guelder rose
Water well through the first two summers to establish a strong root system before its first flowering display.
Care
Standard viburnum siting.
Standard shrub watering.
Fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil.
Prune immediately after flowering, since most deciduous types flower on the previous year's growth; remove one or two of the oldest stems at the base to renew.
A spring feed and mulch is enough, and only really needed on thin soil. The winter-flowering kinds in particular flower perfectly well unfed for decades.
Semi-ripe cuttings in late summer, or hardwood cuttings of the deciduous kinds after leaf fall. Suckering species can simply be divided by lifting a rooted sucker in the dormant season.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchLight feed as growth resumes. how ›
- MayPrune immediately after flowering. how ›
- SeptemberEnjoy autumn colour and berries.
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchLight feed as growth resumes. how ›
- MayPrune immediately after flowering. how ›
- SeptemberEnjoy autumn colour and berries.
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
Popular varieties
Questions
Viburnum: is it hardy?
Laurustinus: H4: Hardy through an average UK winter. It survives down to −10 °C. Guelder rose: H6: Hardy in the vast majority of UK gardens. It survives down to −20 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
Laurustinus: For a few years while young. Guelder rose: While young, better suited to open ground long-term.
Viburnum: when do you prune it?
Laurustinus: Trim to shape after flowering; can be pruned harder if needed to renovate, and tolerates this well. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in April. Guelder rose: Prune immediately after flowering, since most deciduous types flower on the previous year's growth; remove one or two of the oldest stems at the base to renew. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in May.
Viburnum: when does it flower?
Laurustinus: In the climate of UK it flowers in November–March. Guelder rose: In the climate of UK it flowers in April–May.
When do you feed it?
Laurustinus: A general feed over a mulch in spring on poor soil, and nothing on a decent one. An established evergreen viburnum is a tough, self-sufficient shrub; feeding is for young plants and containers. Feeding months, UK: April. Guelder rose: A spring feed and mulch is enough, and only really needed on thin soil. The winter-flowering kinds in particular flower perfectly well unfed for decades. Feeding months, UK: April.