fragrant viburnaums

Any of you have one or more in your garden? Demanding? EZ?

Yes - easy.
Prune lightly to shape.
Carlesii is amazing to breathe; mine is over 10 years old & stays about 5' x 5'.
V. bodnantense is also nice, but if you're not outside much during the Winter, you'll miss it.

If you're looking for a fragrant evergreen that's in bloom now, check out Osmanthus.

Thank you., thank you. I will.

I love my Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn' because even if I don't get out a lot in the winter, I cut a few sprays of flowers and it makes the house smell heavenly. Mine is very happy... I have to cut it back to size fairly regularly, but it is an easy few snips and it is under control. I also noticed yesterday that it is reblooming for me (bloomed nicely in December/January).

mine is reblooming also. Love the powdery-soft fragrance.
I'll be adding another carlesii to the front border - want to smell them wherever I am on my property.
Julie - I highly recommend looking into Osmanthus - no problems/fussing. Evergreen & their fragrance permeates the air right now.

Katye, I will have to check the tag on the one that I have just starting to bloom in my back garden and see if that is what it is. I bought it several years ago when it was in bloom, and it was heavenly. It hasn't bloomed for me since I planted it :{ . I do give some of my plants a challenge when they first come to my house as there are areas that are very dry (under cedars) and this got planted in one of them, so I think it has been pouting. It has four bloom clusters on it right now, and I was thrilled! Will probably get to sniff by the weekend....

does it flower like this?:

oohhh.... no.... It is much whiter. I think that I can smell that bloom from here!

Katye, I finaly got around to looking at the tag on my plant, and it is Burkwood Viburnum. Plantfiles says that it is deciduous, but I swear that mine has leaves all year. Anyway, it is in full bloom right now (if you can call four clumps full bloom... but it is much better that it had last year!) and smells wonderful. This also gives me an excuse to add another plant to my yard... off to look into Osmanthus.....

Julie - Osmanthus burkwoodii. I got one this year and am so thrilled!

This is my Laurustinus Virbunum. It is quite a bit later than my favorite, Pink Dawn, but is also fragrant. These pics were taken on 4-2-2010. Unfortunately, the tag does not give more information as to the exact name. The fragrance is lighter, also. By the way, it is in pretty much full shade, so the blossoms are a bit sparse.

This message was edited Apr 13, 2010 3:19 PM

A close up.

How do the Viburnum's do in full afternoon sun? Looking for good shrubs full afternoon sun and 'comfortable' @ 4-5 ft. tall.

Eleagnus or ceanothus?

Most Elaeagnus will max out at about 8-10'; same with Ceanothus.
Viburnums do fine in full sun - pick carefully, as theytoo, can get taller than your height limit.
You might want to google "shrubs under 4" - this should pull up lots of selections. It really depends on what you want to see - foliage colour, flowers etc...
Also - keep in mind that it is typical for a description to list the estimated TEN YEAR old size of the plant. I would recommend visiting Monrovia Nursery's website. YOu can make selections based on what you're looking for & they will populate a list for you, along with pictures. Evergreen or deciduous? Flowering or no? SIze - don't forget the width: some of the shorter shrubs are spreaders.

I am so tired today because I did what Katye suggested and visited Monrovia's website last night and time flew by and pretty soon I was past my bedtime and . . . .

oh yes...the journey into shrubdom. Important to have much time on hand.

So did you find something that will work?

There is a Ceanothus called Popcorn that's about 3 ft tall and wide. & a "Showy Jasmine" . "Jet-trail flowering quince" 3-4 ft tall. "Lemon beauty box Honeysuckle". The Korean spice viburnum is on my short list if I can keep it 4 ft.-ish. I want about 3 diff shrubs for this full afternoon sun area. Mock Orange has been on my list for several yrs now. I go into 'overload' so easy anymore. decisions decisions

I also love Lonicera Nitida 'Red Tips'. The leaves look like little hearts. I leave it unpruned. My SIL likes it in a more rounded topiary form. It's evergreen and mine has taken to clay pretty well with absolutely no care.

Lonicera Nitida Lemon Beauty - It will get wide. It takes well to pruning, but watch out for any branching that is reverting back to solid green - Deal with it immediately. Mine is 3 years old - so far, so good.

Lonicera nitida 'Red Tips' - I have 2 - both get pruned. T Very pretty new growth.
The nitidas tend to be taller - in the 5' category.
I have a preference for Lonicera pileata - plain green with purple fall berries. I have many - all are under 3' & spread about 5 - 7'. Prunable & very co-operative as a lower shrub. No pests or diseases that i know of.

Korean Spice Vib - it will exceed the height you want, but is do-able. Prune hard & take the center down to open it up & promote side growth.

Mock Orange - I assume you mean Philadelphus. There are some shorter varieties, but most Phils usually goes to about 9 or 10'.

Ceanothus - I have to warn you if they like where they are, they will grow like crazy. Be aware that they are considered a short-lived shrub. that being said, BE SURE TO PRUNE after flowering. They have a habit which I find annoying - lots of dead twiggy stuff that detracts from the plant. Needs really well-drained soil & seasonal rain after it is established (2 yrs - but it doesn't have huge water requirements when young, either.)

I think you should get one of each. But then, I am into enabling...

Katye, what do you mean: " but watch out for any branching that is reverting back to solid green - Deal with it immediately."???

I realize my 3-4 ft tall limits are too constricting so I am working now w/ anything that tolerates a good annual pruning/cutting.
The short life of the Ceanothus is what has kept me away from them.

You guys in your 'garden latin talk' use to overwhelm me and I would work on getting the latin names down then I remembered I can pray The Lord's prayer in Latin and have become comfortable w/ my "you know that small shrub with little white flowers" kind of descriptions. Carry on! And Thank you!!

The problem with NOT using the Latin names is that eventually you start referring to the wrong plants and it doesn't do anybody any good . . .

well, you would still have my attention as I takes notes . . .

I'll bet they'll start to stick after awhile and then it won't seem so strange . . .

Frequently on plants with variegated foliage, a part of the plant reverts back to a solid green. the variegation is often a weaker trait, the solid more dominant.
You would want to prune out anything that reverts so it does not becomae dominant.
As an example, I had a beautiful specimen of Butterfly Maple, which has tri-colorfoliage. I missed a branch in back - it was hidden by the plants behind it, which grew into a larger branch & totally reverted an entire section of the tree. It spoiled the look, and I learned a good lesson: be on the lookout for this with your variegated ones.

One of my Ceanothus is about 12 -15 yrs old (can't remember exactly). They live longer when given the correct siting. if not, they'll weaken over time & expire.
I really like them; just don't like the trimming of the twigginess.