Accueil / Home
français
Seasonal produce
Viburnum

Viburnum or Guelder Rose

There are over a hundred and twenty varieties of these plants, all named Virburnum.

The Roman name viburnum came from the Latin viere meaning to bind or plait. The branches of these shrubs were used for rough binding and the very straight shoots were made to make arrow shafts (a specimen was found in the quiver of the prehistoric hunter called Otzi who was discovered in the Dolomites in 1991). Viburnum is also called guelder rose, cramp bark, snowball tree, etc.

Crédit photo : Les Jardins de Pomone

Identity card

Viburnum plants are shrubs that range from 1.5 to 4 metres in height, belonging to the Adoxaceae family (previouslyCaprifoliaceae). The foliage may be deciduous or evergreen, depending on varieties. They are found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere and in the mountainous areas of South America, Africa and Asia (place of origin). The planting takes place from November to February for the deciduous species and the flowering season is from winter to spring.

Viburnum tinus, or Laurustinus viburnum, has a dense rounded crown, a red bark and tough leaves. In autumn, its white flowers are replaced by fleshy, dark fruit. Viburnum bodnantense is a hybrid with a very fragrant red or pink blossom between November and March. Viburnum plicatum is a great classic that blooms wonderfully and lastingly in spring and has pretty oval leaves in autumn. Lastly, there is viburnum carlesii (Carles viburnum), which is resistant to cold and produces a ball of very fragrant pink flowers.

Cultivation and care

It is very easy to care for these plants as the type of soil is not important as long as there is enough water. Straw mulching the base in the first years stops the plants wilting if it is too sunny. They only need to be watered every two weeks in summer.

They grow well in relatively shady places, sheltered from the wind, and ideally along walls and fences. Lastly, viburnum is resistant to disease and urban pollution. Its worst enemy is still the black bean aphid, which infests its fruit in autumn. (Source: Les Jardins de Pomone)

At Rungis Market

For Mrs Eveline Tartarin, General Manager of VWT - Van Wymeersch, “2009 will go down as a good year as we sold 100,000 to 120,000 viburnum opulus or sterile snowball tree shoots (not bearing fruit), 60,000 to 80,000 viburnum opulus shoots and 80,000 Laurustinus viburnum plants. Our clients are florists or wholesalers.”

Matthieu NOLI

 

back to the list