Also known as Appalachian tea, wild raisin, swamp haw, withe-rod and witherrod viburnum, this deciduous shrub is native to eastern North America from Newfoundland to Manitoba and Minnesota, south to Georgia, where it grows in wet areas such as along streams and ponds edges and in bogs and swamps. It is a member of the moschatel fmaily, Adoxaceae, that also includes elders. The plant usually grows 5-6′ tall and wide, and has a dense rounded form with arching branches. The leaves are 1.5-3.5″ long, have irregularly toothed margin, and are ovate or oblong with an acute or bluntly pointed tip and a rounded or wedge-shaped base. They are chocolate to bronze-tinted when they emerge but turn dark green in summer, and then orange-red, to crimson or purple in the fall. Flat-topped clusters of creamy white flowers with yellow stamens appear in the spring. The clusters are 2-5″ across and composed of trumpet-shaped flowers that are 1/4″ across, fragrant, and attractive to bees and butterflies. The small fruits that follows are berry-like, green at first, turning pink, to red, to blue, and to black in the fall. Often berries of all colors are present in a single cluster. The berries persist into winter and provide food for song birds and small mammals. Blue haw is valued for use as a hedge and a specimen plant as well as part of a naturalized area. It is an excellent choice for native plant, butterfly, pollinator, bird, wildlife, water, and rain gardens. The genus name, Viburnum, is the ancient Latin name for one species of the genus. The specific epithet, cassinoides, is from the Timucua word cassina meaning tea or black drink and refers to a product made from the leaves and stems of a holly. As used here, cassinoides refers to the resemblance of blue haw to the holly, Ilex cassine.
Type: Flowering deciduous shrub
Outstanding Feature: Flowers; provides food and shelter for wildlife
Form: Rounded
Growth Rate: Moderate
Bloom: Flat-topped clusters of fragrant creamy white flowers in spring
Size: 5-12′ H (but usually 10′ or less) x 5-8′ W
Light: Full sun to part shade
Soil: Average, moist to occasionally wet, well-drained; tolerates occasionally dry soil when established
Hardiness: Zones 3-8
Care: Plant in groups to facilitate cross-pollination and good fruit display; prune in late fall or early spring
Pests and Diseases: Generally healthy but susceptible to aphids, borers, nematodes, scale, thrips, leaf spot, anthracnose, and powdery mildew.
Propagation: Seed, soft-wood cuttings in early summer, semi-ripe cuttings with heel in late summer, layering in late summer
Outstanding Selection:
‘SMNVCDD’, sold under the trade name of LIL DITTY (dwarf)
var. Nanum (dwarf, good fall color)
Photo Credit: Fungus Guy, Wikimedia Commons
Karen Meyers