Shrub
How to grow viburnum
Viburnum tinus, V. × bodnantense, V. opulus and others
Plant viburnum between October and March in sun or part shade, in fertile soil that holds moisture but drains. Most are fully hardy and need little pruning. Because the genus runs from winter-flowering evergreens to summer-flowering natives, the keys are choosing the right species for the spot and pruning each straight after it flowers. Viburnum beetle is the one serious pest, mainly on V. tinus and V. opulus.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy (most)
- Position
- Sun to part shade
- Soil
- Fertile, moisture-retentive, free-draining
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.5
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Moderate feeder
Sowing and planting viburnum
WhenPlant Oct to Mar; flowers by species from Nov to Jun
Starting off
Plant pot-grown stock Oct to Mar, or bare-root V. opulus and V. lantana Nov to Mar for native hedging. Propagate evergreens by 10 cm semi-ripe cuttings with a heel in Jul to Sep at 18 to 20°C, deciduous types by softwood cuttings in Jun or hardwood cuttings in Nov. V. opulus and V. lantana seed sown fresh in Oct in a cold frame needs two winters to germinate.
Spacing and planting
V. tinus reaches 2.5 to 3 m by 2.5 m; V. × bodnantense 'Dawn' 2.5 to 3 m by 2 m; V. opulus 4 m by 4 m; V. davidii stays at 1 m by 1.5 m. Plant 1 to 2.5 m apart to suit, in a hole twice the rootball width at the same depth it grew in the pot. V. tinus and V. davidii suit a 45 cm pot; the big deciduous species do not.
Varieties worth growing
- V. tinus 'Eve Price'
- Evergreen and compact, with pink buds opening to white flowers from December to April. Takes shade, clipping and coastal wind; a good hedge or screen.
- V. × bodnantense 'Dawn'
- Deciduous and upright, with strongly scented pink flowers on bare stems from November to March. Plant it by a path you use in winter.
- V. × burkwoodii
- Semi-evergreen, with rounded heads of pink-budded white flowers in April and May and one of the best scents in the spring garden.
- V. plicatum f. tomentosum 'Mariesii'
- Tiered horizontal branches lined with white lacecap flowers in May. Give it room to spread to 3 m and never clip it.
- V. opulus 'Compactum'
- A 1.5 m form of the native guelder rose: white lacecaps in June, translucent red berries and red autumn leaves. Good on damp soil and for wildlife.
Viburnum month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
V. × bodnantense and V. tinus in flower. Plant in open weather. Cut out shoot tips carrying beetle egg caps.
- February
Plant. Tidy V. opulus, removing a few of the oldest stems at the base.
- March
Balanced feed and a 5 cm mulch. Last month for bare-root planting.
- April
Prune V. × bodnantense and V. tinus as flowering ends; renovate overgrown V. tinus. Check for beetle larvae.
- May
V. × burkwoodii, V. carlesii and V. plicatum in flower. Water spring-planted shrubs.
- June
V. opulus flowers. Prune spring-flowering kinds straight after bloom if needed. Softwood cuttings of deciduous types.
- July
Semi-ripe cuttings of evergreens. Adult beetles appear late in the month.
- August
Water in drought, especially V. plicatum and anything in a pot. Semi-ripe cuttings.
- September
Berries and autumn colour on V. opulus. Semi-ripe cuttings. Do not prune.
- October
Planting season begins. Sow V. opulus berries fresh in a cold frame.
- November
Plant bare-root V. opulus and V. lantana for hedging. Hardwood cuttings. First flowers on 'Dawn'.
- December
V. tinus starts to flower. Plant in open weather.
Feeding viburnum
A moderate feeder. One balanced feed in March under an organic mulch covers the year; evergreens in pots get a second, smaller dose in June. Nothing after midsummer, and no extra nitrogen, which costs flowers.
Moderate, a balanced spring feed and a mulch.
Feeding plan
October to March, at planting
5 g per litre of root ball, dusted onto the roots or into the hole so it touches them: 15 g for a 3 litre pot, 50 g for a 10 litre pot. Dust the damp roots of bare-root hedging plants. Once.
March
100 g/m², the label rate, scattered under the branch spread and watered in: about 100 g for a young shrub, 200 to 300 g for a mature one covering 2 to 3 m².
March, after feeding
Garden compost
A 5 cm mulch of compost or composted bark over the root area, kept clear of the stems.
March and June, pots
2 g per litre of compost, the bottom of the label range, on the surface and watered in: about 70 g for a 45 cm pot holding roughly 35 litres, each time.
Signs to watch
Yellowing between the veins on older leaves in late summer
Magnesium short after a heavy potash feed or on light soil
Epsom salts drench at 20 g per litre
Lush growth and no scented winter flowers
Excess nitrogen
Stop feeding, give sulphate of potash in Mar
Bronze or reddish leaves on V. tinus in Feb
Cold stress and wet feet, not a deficiency
Improve drainage, no action needed in spr
Pests, diseases and problems
Leaves reduced to a lace of veins in April and May, and again in late summer
Viburnum beetle: cream and black larvae feed in spring, grey-brown adults from late July. Worst on V. tinus, V. opulus and V. lantana
Check new leaves from April and pick off larvae on small plants. In winter prune out shoot tips showing rows of small raised brown caps, which cover the eggs. Established shrubs recover; where it is severe every year, replant with a less affected species such as V. × bodnantense or V. × burkwoodii.
Tightly curled, distorted leaves at the shoot tips in spring
Viburnum aphid, mainly on V. opulus and V. carlesii
Tolerate it; the damage is done by June and later growth is clean. Squash colonies as the leaves open on young plants.
Black oval dots fringed with white wax under V. tinus leaves
Viburnum whitefly; the dots are the overwintering young stages
No action needed. It is cosmetic and does not affect growth or flowering.
Black sooty film on V. tinus leaves, with white egg masses or brown scales beneath
Scale insects excreting honeydew, on which sooty mould grows
Prune out the worst shoots after flowering, wipe mould off with water, and thin the bush so air and birds can get in.
Dull silvery-brown upper leaf surfaces on V. tinus in a sheltered spot
Thrips feeding under the leaves through summer
Clip off the worst growth in spring and water in dry weather; plants against hot walls suffer most, so open sites are less troubled.
V. davidii flowers each year but never has its blue berries
Plants are effectively male or female, and a lone plant or a single-sex group sets little or no fruit
Plant in groups of three or more and buy plants labelled male and female, at least one of each.
Pruning
Pruning and care
Winter and spring flowerers (V. tinus, V. × bodnantense, V. × burkwoodii, V. plicatum) bloom on old wood, so prune straight after flowering, removing 1 in 5 old stems at the base; summer-flowering V. opulus is tidied in Feb to Mar. Most need no routine pruning. V. tinus takes hard renovation to 30 cm in Apr; V. plicatum 'Mariesii' resents any cutting of its tiered branches. No staking or winter prote
Good to knowA big genus, some winter-flowering, some scented, some berrying. Prune to suit the type.
Growing viburnum in pots
Two viburnums make good long-term pot plants: V. tinus, especially compact forms such as 'Eve Price', and the low evergreen V. davidii. Use a 45 cm pot of loam-based compost, in sun or part shade, and water regularly; V. tinus in a dry pot drops leaves and is far more prone to thrips and scale. Feed in March and June, replace the top 5 cm of compost each spring and repot every three or four years. Trim V. tinus after flowering to keep it in proportion. The large deciduous species, V. opulus, V. plicatum and V. × bodnantense, outgrow any container within a few years and belong in the ground.
Viburnum: common questions
When should I prune viburnum?
Prune most kinds straight after flowering. That means April for winter-flowering V. tinus and V. × bodnantense and June for spring-flowering V. × burkwoodii and V. plicatum; V. opulus, grown for its berries, is tidied in February or March. Most need very little: remove a few of the oldest stems at the base and anything dead or crossing.
What is eating my viburnum leaves?
Viburnum beetle is almost always the answer when leaves are full of holes or reduced to veins. The larvae feed in April and May and the adults from late July into autumn, chiefly on V. tinus, V. opulus and V. lantana. Pick larvae off small plants, prune out egg-bearing shoot tips in winter, and expect an established shrub to grow through it.
Which viburnum is best for a hedge?
Viburnum tinus is the best for an evergreen hedge, reaching 2 to 2.5 m, flowering through winter and clipping well once a year after flowering. Plant 60 cm apart. For a native, wildlife-friendly mixed hedge use guelder rose, V. opulus, as bare-root plants set out between November and March.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.