Arrowwood Viburnum
Photos by Matt Whitaker
Scientific Description: Arrowwood Viburnum – Viburnum dentatum – is a native shrub species found throughout the eastern portion of the United States from hardiness zones 2 through 8. It grows to a mature height of 6 to 15 feet and is deciduous.
Its flowers mature in early spring to early summer with a flat-topped, non-fragrant, white flower cluster approximately four inches wide. The fruit is a blackish blue series of drupes that finally mature in late summer or autumn.
Arrowwood Viburnum grows best in full sun to partial shade in well-drained, moist soil. It can grow in and tolerate just about any soil type and pH condition.
The common name for this species comes from Native Americans, who used the straight stems of the plant as arrows.
Photos by Matt Whitaker
Habitat Value: The fruit of this shrub is sought out by many bird species and other animals, and the flowers will feed many types of butterflies.
Arrowwood Viburnum sometimes has issues with white fly or Viburnum beetle.
Photos by Matt Whitaker
Landscape Value: By Matt Whitaker of WMWA Landscape Architects
Arrowwood Viburnum is one of the most durable and useful of our native shrubs. I find it most useful as a screen, since with good sun, decent soil, and water, it is a vigorous grower and seldom finicky like so many common evergreen screen plants. Maybe more important than its vigor and durability is that the density of its branches in winter serves as a great screen, even when it does not have leaves. Finally, I would call Viburnum dentatum tardily deciduous, because it holds its fall-colored leaves well into December here. Arrowwood also tolerates some salt spray and moderate pruning. It does not tolerate deep shade and needs at least three to four hours of full sun to do a good job screening.
There are more than 20 cultivar/selections available in the trade of various sizes and/or with intense fall color, larger flowers, or attractive fruit. Little Joe, at four feet, is perhaps the smallest. Blue Muffin, with intense blue fruit, and growing to five to seven feet, is one of the most common. In nature, arrowwood has considerable variation across its native range and is sometimes broken out into multiple species, including V. bracteatum, molle, ozaerkense, rafinesquianum, and recognitum. Modern genetics is allowing scientist to discern what should be its own species and what is best grouped in a broader species, like dentatum, for many plants.
