European Cranberry Bush or Whitten Tree
Viburnum opulus (CAPRIFOLIACEAE)
Planting and Growing European Cranberry Bush
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow European cranberry bush or whitten tree in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and berries of European cranberry bush or whitten tree
- Growing conditions for European cranberry bush or whitten tree
- When and where to plant European cranberry bush or whitten tree
- How to plant European cranberry bush or whitten tree
- How to shape, prune and control growth of European cranberry bush or whitten tree
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of European cranberry bush or whitten tree
- Landscape uses of European cranberry bush or whitten tree
- Pest and disease control for European cranberry bush or whitten tree
Growing European Cranberry Bush
Several cultivars of graceful, medium-growing, open, deciduous shrubs, to 12 ft. (3.7 m) tall, with maplelike, 3–5-lobed, divided, veined leaves, to 4 in. (10 cm) long, turning bright red in autumn.
Common cultivars include Viburnum opulus ‘Aureum’, ‘Compactum’, ‘Nanum’, and ‘Roseum’.
European cranberry bush is but one species of the large and diverse Viburnum or Arrowwood genus (see Arrowwood Species and Hybrids].
European Cranberry Bush Planting Guide
Flowers and Fruit
Many showy, cream, white, single flowers, to 3/4‑in. (19‑mm) wide, in late spring, form mounding clusters, to 4 in. (10 cm) wide, with scarlet berries in autumn, persisting to winter.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 3–10; ground hardy, zones 3–8.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist to dry, well-drained soil. Fertility: Rich–average. 6.0–7.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Full sun to partial shade. Space 6–8 ft. (1.8–2.4 m) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist. Fertilize quarterly spring–autumn. Mulch, zones 7–10. Prune after bloom. Protect from sun in hot climates. Propagate by cuttings, grafting, layering, seed.
About This Species
Good choice for accents, borders, margins, screens in cottage, natural, rock, water, woodland gardens. Berries attract birds. Disease resistant. Aphid, spider mite susceptible.
Arrowwood Species and Hybrids
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- Viburnum acerifolium, maple-leaved arrowwood
- Viburnum awabukii, sweet arrowwood
- Viburnum betulifolium, birch arrowwood
- Viburnum X burkwoodii, Burkwood viburnum
- Viburnum X carlcephalum, fragrant snowball
- Viburnum carlesii, fragrant viburnum
- Viburnum davidii, David viburnum
- Viburnum dentatum, arrowwood
- Viburnum dilatatum, linden viburnum
- Viburnum edule, highbush cranberry
- Viburnum farreri, fragrant arrowwood
- Viburnum grandiflorum, cranberry bush
- Viburnum hybrids, hybrid arrowwood
- Viburnum japonicum, Japanese viburnum
- Viburnum lantana, rugose wayfaring tree
- Viburnum macrocephalum, Chinese snowball
- Viburnum opulus, European cranberry bush
- Viburnum plicatum, Japanese snowball
- Viburnum rhytidophyllum, leather-leaved viburnum
- Viburnum rufidulum, southern black haw
- Viburnum sargentii, Sargent cranberry bush
- Viburnum setigerum, tea viburnum
- Viburnum sieboldii, Siebold viburnum
- Viburnum suspensum, Sandankwa viburnum
- Viburnum tinus, Laurustinus viburnum
- Viburnum trilobum, American cranberry bush
- Viburnum veitchii, Veitch viburnum
- Viburnum wrightii, Wright arrowwood
About Arrowwood
The diverse Viburnum genus numbers 225 species of upright, deciduous and evergreen shrubs, native to the Americas, Europe, and Asia. While some are heat sensitive in warm climates, all arrowwood species are hardy to U.S.D.A. Zone 3.
With many different common names and habits, most are open, attractive plants that bear showy flowers in late spring, followed by bright red or black berries in autumn. These provide a feast for wild birds attracted to feed on the berries before winter.
Arrowwoods make good foundation shrubs. Their medium- to slow-growth rate and highly varied species offer a selection of forms and heights that range from 5–40 ft. (1.5–12 m) tall. They are ideal ornamental plants for many locations and uses in home landscapes.
Plant arrowwoods as featured specimens and as accent shrubs in island beds. Choose them for backgrounds and borders near fencelines, paths, structures, and walls. Edge your yard with a row of arrowwoods along a drive to screen it from the street.
Arrowwoods are susceptible to aphids, spider mites, and thrips and powdery mildew and leaf spot, fungal diseases caused when spores splash onto the plants’ foliage.
Choose from among the most popular species and hybrids of Arrowood, listed above.
Planting and Caring for Arrowwood
Choose a planting site in full sun or partial shade. Most arrowwoods do best in evenly moist, well-drained, neutral soils with a mix of sand and humus.
Mulch plants in U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 6–8 to keep their roots cool as temperatures rise in summer. Fertilize in spring as the plants begin their new growth. Shape them after their flowers fade; they bloom each year on old wood, not new-seasonal growth.
Arrowwoods fill the need for a landscape shrub that will grow slowly, fill an area, bear showy flowers followed by attractive berries, and require minimal care.
Evergreen viburnums maintain their charm throughout the year, while the deciduous species show off their sculptural forms and colorful berries in the winter after their leaves fall.
Three separate flowers are found on arrowwoods: most are flat clusters, 4–6 in. (10–15 cm) wide; some bear round, compact clusters resembling their namesake snowballs; and others have many flat, tiny, fertile flowers surrounded by large rays, similar to composite flowers such as daisy.
Choose arrowwoods for their foliage, beautiful spring flowers, charming berries that attract foraging birds, or structural branches.