PL ANT OF TH E M ON TH
continued from page 26 The beetle will still be a nuisance, but with proper IPM (Intergrated Pest Management) can be managed quite easily.
beautiful, with almost the entire crown of the shrub being covered in white.
Now, allow us to introduce you to a Viburnum that has very little problems with VLB and offers great ornamental value to the landscape. Viburnum dilatatum, the Linden Viburnum, is a native of Japan, Korea, and China, but has been part of breeders’ circles since at least the mid 1950s, working its way into the landscape in the ’60s.
Through summer, the deep-green leaves make an excellent backdrop to summer flowers. And, to someone, they must have looked similar to a linden tree (Tilia sp.), though we don’t quite see the resemblance. As summer fades into autumn, the plant prepares the most ornamental feature it will offer, even better than the explosion of flowers from spring. Fruit set on a happy Linden Viburnum offers clusters of bright, cherry-red drupes, exuding excellent color which usually lasts from October through November, and often into December. As the winter goes on, they appear as little, red raisins on the plant, until slowly picked off by overwintering birds.
In its native range, this Viburnum flourishes in mature forests, mostly along the margin near open fields, and is found just as often in lowland areas of poor soil. This wide adaptability from full sun to part shade, as well as perfect loam soils to lower oxygen heavier soils, is a major reason this shrub should be used more often in the Ohio landscape. A word of caution on location within the landscape however, be sure to keep this plant away from open windows on the house. While not as repugnant as Arrowwood Viburnum, the flowers of V. dilatatum should be seen and not smelled. The specific epithet of this species comes from the Latin word, dilated, which means open, or spread out, and is a reference to the overall effect of the flat topped cymes blooming for a few weeks in late spring. The visual effect is
28 | Official Publication of The Ohio Landscape Association
To obtain the best fruit set, it is highly recommended to plant at least (two) different cultivars of this plant, to obtain better cross pollination. If self-pollinated, the fruit set is weak and not worth the garden space. There are a number of great cultivars of Viburnum dilatatum – several of them the result of the great Dr. Don Egolf, who introduced over 60 great cultivars of plants at the National Arboretum starting in 1958. continued on page 30