I need to screen an area at the edge of my lot. It is on the edge of a
wooded ravine and I want to screen out the ratty looking under growth. I
have a landscape plan that calls for several Shasta viburnums to be planted
in that spot. I put in a Shasta viburnum last year down the lot line a bit
and it did well, flowering this spring. Some Burkwood vibunums have gone on
clearance for a good price and I am considering substituting them. The area
gets dabbled sunlight in the morning and a few hours of direct sunlight in
the late afternoon.

The nursery also has the Judd viburnurm (Viburnum x Juddii) but I already
have one and while I like it, the plant tends to have a vase shape without
very good screening properties at the bottom.

I don't know if I should go ahead and substitute the Burkwood for the
Shasta? My searches have given a wide range of mature sizes for this
shrub - from 4 to 8 feet high and as wide. Is there a better choice? I
would like something that is at least semi-evergreen in zone 6 because the
view across the ravine in the winter isn't too good.

Vox, here's an info dump from my field notes on both Viburnums.... There's a
Shasta at the National Arboretum that is about 15 feet wide and 10-12 feet
tall....

Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum, Doublefile Viburnum
Zones: 5-8
Habit: 8-10" in height usually wider, horizontal, tiered branching structure
can be arresting in winter, broad-rounded in form w/ stratified appearance.
They do get wider and taller than literature says...
Leaves: opposite, broad-ovate, 2-4"long, ½ as wide w/ strongly
dentate/serrate edges, rounded to cordate at base. Acuminate. Veins are
impressed giving ridged and furrowed effect. Leaves tend to hang down or
droop in heat of summer.
Flowers: white, outer flowers sterile, inner fertile and not showy, giving a
'lacecap' appearance, May bloom lasting about 2 weeks, flowers are borne on
2" peduncles held above foliage so that they are layered above horizontal
branches. "A choice specimen of doublefile Viburnum is without equal"! ala
Dirr. Red-reddish-purple fall color is outstanding.
D&I: none serious
Cultivars:
'Shasta' - Another famous Don Egolf hybrid, w/ broadly horizontal branching,
twice as wide as high - 6' high x 12' wide (check out one of original
specimens at Court of Honor (National Arboretum) - 10' high or more in
south, despite literature saying 6'! Profuse and large flowers are 4-6" in
diameter, larger than other cultivars and prolifically produced along
branches. Bright red fruit in July (I find that this is variable and don't
often see abundant fruit displays). Beware of mislabeled specimens in
nursery trade.
'Shoshoni" seedling of Shasta -same as Shasta but on a smaller scale, 5' x 8
' at 17 yrs. Good for small gardens, shrub borders. Same fabulous form and
showy flowers.
'Summer Snowflake' - ( same as Watanabe) more upright, small doublefile vib.
w/ heaviest flowers in spring and intermittent bloom thereafter thru growing
season. Reaches 4-5'+ high with upright oval habit, and as Pam Harper says,
it has a narrowed 'waist', somewhat like an hour glass shape! Needs
watering in droughts. This cultivar is great for smaller gardens, although
the flowers are smaller and less prolifically produced there are flushes of
bloom through summer and fall. I find that fall color is not notable in the
four specimens I have planted.
'Mariesii' - old stand-by, still beautiful, large flowers carried well above
foliage are quite showy, well over 10' high and again some find heavy
fruiting while others report scarce fruit display. Perhaps more than one
cultivar or specimen is needed for good fruit display as in many viburnums,
although literature is inconclusive on this point.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------
V .x burkwoodii (Cross of V. carlesii and V. utile)
Viburnum x burkwoodii, Burkwood Viburnum
'Mohawk', 'Chenault'
Leaves: Semi-evergreen; opposite, elliptic, 1-1/2 - 4" long, irregularly
toothed, lustrous dark green above, a bit rough to the touch, lighter and
tomentose below, veins often rusty-pubescent. Some leaves take on red fall
color but typically hold late.
Habit: 8 - 10' high and wide, upright, multi-stemmed shrub, rather open and
can be 'tangled and scraggly'.
Flowers: Pink ii buds opening to white flowers, quite fragrant and spicy in
April in hemispherical cymes 2 - 3" across.
Fruit: red changing to black, 1/3" diam. Ellipsoidal in shape in late
summer, sparsely produced with limited ornamental value.
Uses: fairly attractive, fragrant and semi-evergreen with nice lustrous
small foliage. Withstands and blooms in a lot of shade.
'Chenault' - very confused and probably same as x burkwoodii, smaller
leaves , bit more compact and very floriferous.

'Mohawk' - Backcross of V. x burkwoodii x V. carlesii in 1953 by D. Egolf.
This cultivar has created a lot of good comments and attention. Notable for
long lasting polished dark red flower buds extending season of floral
display to a few weeks, opening to white petals w/, deep-pink to red
reverse. Strong, spicy clove scent, abundant flowers.
Form: supposedly compact growth habit - 7'(8) x 71/2' height and wide. In my
experience this cultivar does get large and somewhat open and rangy - not as
dense or handsome as V. carlesii or juddii in my opinion. I have also noted
that the flowers of carlesii come into bloom about a week or more before and
last longer than V. x 'Mohawk'
Leaves: glossy , dark green leaves are somewhat similar to V. carlesii in
shape and color, but much glossier and darker true green to me. Obovate and
finely and irregularly toothed. Fall color supposedly good orange-red w/
clean leaf fall in Nov. but not in my experience -I find that leaves are
semi-evergreen and only some interior leaves turn color; not a very stirring
show. Foliage resistant to powdery mildew and leaf spot bacteria.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also lots of good information on Viburnums at Dirr's website,
nobleplants.com

http://www.nobleplants.com/articles/viburnum.htm

Dave



"Vox Humana" wrote in message
...
I need to screen an area at the edge of my lot. It is on the edge of a
wooded ravine and I want to screen out the ratty looking under growth. I
have a landscape plan that calls for several Shasta viburnums to be
planted
in that spot. I put in a Shasta viburnum last year down the lot line a
bit
and it did well, flowering this spring. Some Burkwood vibunums have gone
on
clearance for a good price and I am considering substituting them. The
area
gets dabbled sunlight in the morning and a few hours of direct sunlight in
the late afternoon.

The nursery also has the Judd viburnurm (Viburnum x Juddii) but I already
have one and while I like it, the plant tends to have a vase shape without
very good screening properties at the bottom.

I don't know if I should go ahead and substitute the Burkwood for the
Shasta? My searches have given a wide range of mature sizes for this
shrub - from 4 to 8 feet high and as wide. Is there a better choice? I
would like something that is at least semi-evergreen in zone 6 because the
view across the ravine in the winter isn't too good.

"David J Bockman" wrote in message
...
Vox, here's an info dump from my field notes on both Viburnums.... There's
a
Shasta at the National Arboretum that is about 15 feet wide and 10-12 feet
tall....

Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum, Doublefile Viburnum
Zones: 5-8
Habit: 8-10" in height usually wider, horizontal, tiered branching
structure
can be arresting in winter, broad-rounded in form w/ stratified
appearance.
They do get wider and taller than literature says...
Leaves: opposite, broad-ovate, 2-4"long, ½ as wide w/ strongly
dentate/serrate edges, rounded to cordate at base. Acuminate. Veins are
impressed giving ridged and furrowed effect. Leaves tend to hang down or
droop in heat of summer.
Flowers: white, outer flowers sterile, inner fertile and not showy, giving
a
'lacecap' appearance, May bloom lasting about 2 weeks, flowers are borne
on
2" peduncles held above foliage so that they are layered above horizontal
branches. "A choice specimen of doublefile Viburnum is without equal"!
ala
Dirr. Red-reddish-purple fall color is outstanding.
D&I: none serious
Cultivars:
'Shasta' - Another famous Don Egolf hybrid, w/ broadly horizontal
branching,
twice as wide as high - 6' high x 12' wide (check out one of original
specimens at Court of Honor (National Arboretum) - 10' high or more in
south, despite literature saying 6'! Profuse and large flowers are 4-6"
in
diameter, larger than other cultivars and prolifically produced along
branches. Bright red fruit in July (I find that this is variable and don't
often see abundant fruit displays). Beware of mislabeled specimens in
nursery trade.
'Shoshoni" seedling of Shasta -same as Shasta but on a smaller scale, 5' x
8
' at 17 yrs. Good for small gardens, shrub borders. Same fabulous form
and
showy flowers.
'Summer Snowflake' - ( same as Watanabe) more upright, small doublefile
vib.
w/ heaviest flowers in spring and intermittent bloom thereafter thru
growing
season. Reaches 4-5'+ high with upright oval habit, and as Pam Harper
says,
it has a narrowed 'waist', somewhat like an hour glass shape! Needs
watering in droughts. This cultivar is great for smaller gardens,
although
the flowers are smaller and less prolifically produced there are flushes
of
bloom through summer and fall. I find that fall color is not notable in
the
four specimens I have planted.
'Mariesii' - old stand-by, still beautiful, large flowers carried well
above
foliage are quite showy, well over 10' high and again some find heavy
fruiting while others report scarce fruit display. Perhaps more than one
cultivar or specimen is needed for good fruit display as in many
viburnums,
although literature is inconclusive on this point.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
------------------------
V .x burkwoodii (Cross of V. carlesii and V. utile)
Viburnum x burkwoodii, Burkwood Viburnum
'Mohawk', 'Chenault'
Leaves: Semi-evergreen; opposite, elliptic, 1-1/2 - 4" long, irregularly
toothed, lustrous dark green above, a bit rough to the touch, lighter and
tomentose below, veins often rusty-pubescent. Some leaves take on red
fall
color but typically hold late.
Habit: 8 - 10' high and wide, upright, multi-stemmed shrub, rather open
and
can be 'tangled and scraggly'.
Flowers: Pink ii buds opening to white flowers, quite fragrant and spicy
in
April in hemispherical cymes 2 - 3" across.
Fruit: red changing to black, 1/3" diam. Ellipsoidal in shape in late
summer, sparsely produced with limited ornamental value.
Uses: fairly attractive, fragrant and semi-evergreen with nice lustrous
small foliage. Withstands and blooms in a lot of shade.
'Chenault' - very confused and probably same as x burkwoodii, smaller
leaves , bit more compact and very floriferous.

'Mohawk' - Backcross of V. x burkwoodii x V. carlesii in 1953 by D. Egolf.
This cultivar has created a lot of good comments and attention. Notable
for
long lasting polished dark red flower buds extending season of floral
display to a few weeks, opening to white petals w/, deep-pink to red
reverse. Strong, spicy clove scent, abundant flowers.
Form: supposedly compact growth habit - 7'(8) x 71/2' height and wide. In
my
experience this cultivar does get large and somewhat open and rangy - not
as
dense or handsome as V. carlesii or juddii in my opinion. I have also
noted
that the flowers of carlesii come into bloom about a week or more before
and
last longer than V. x 'Mohawk'
Leaves: glossy , dark green leaves are somewhat similar to V. carlesii in
shape and color, but much glossier and darker true green to me. Obovate
and
finely and irregularly toothed. Fall color supposedly good orange-red w/
clean leaf fall in Nov. but not in my experience -I find that leaves are
semi-evergreen and only some interior leaves turn color; not a very
stirring
show. Foliage resistant to powdery mildew and leaf spot bacteria.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also lots of good information on Viburnums at Dirr's website,
nobleplants.com


Thanks. I enjoyed the information at the link you provided.

I'm not Dirr, But wanted to chime in with my experience. I've got one of
these, and it's my favorite of the several vibirnums I've got. I've got it
as part of an informal, mixed hedge, and it fills out the space very nicely.
The leaves catch the light in a pleasant way that make it look good from a
distance. The flowers are wonderfully fragrant. I keep mine at 8 ft. with
some light pruning after it blooms. It has no pest or disease problems that
I can discern, and is all in all a satisfying shrub to have around.

Cheers,
Sue

Zone 6, Southcentral PA


"Vox Humana" wrote in message very good screening
properties at the bottom.

I don't know if I should go ahead and substitute the Burkwood for the
Shasta? My searches have given a wide range of mature sizes for this
shrub - from 4 to 8 feet high and as wide. Is there a better choice? I
would like something that is at least semi-evergreen in zone 6 because the
view across the ravine in the winter isn't too good.

"SugarChile" wrote in message
thlink.net...
I'm not Dirr, But wanted to chime in with my experience. I've got one of
these, and it's my favorite of the several vibirnums I've got. I've got
it
as part of an informal, mixed hedge, and it fills out the space very
nicely.
The leaves catch the light in a pleasant way that make it look good from a
distance. The flowers are wonderfully fragrant. I keep mine at 8 ft.
with
some light pruning after it blooms. It has no pest or disease problems
that
I can discern, and is all in all a satisfying shrub to have around.


Thanks. Eight feet is just about the height I need. For some reason the
Shasta viburnum is very hard to find in my area. I got the one I have while
visiting my sister last year. We are both addicted to gardening and visits
always include a tour of all the local nurseries. I doubt that I would ever
find the Shasta on sale here, so was hoping that the Burkwook would be an
acceptable substitute.

I have a hedge row of V. x burkwoodii with leather leaf viburnum. They are
evergreen for me in Texas, but they are in full shade with some dappled morning
sun.

If a screen is the desire, I would only recommend (within the appropriate plants
for your locality) more than two varieties. In other words, mix in some plants
which are not viburnums so if there is some die off, you will still have
something there.


On Thu, 29 May 2003 19:37:49 GMT, "Vox Humana" wrote:

I need to screen an area at the edge of my lot. It is on the edge of a
wooded ravine and I want to screen out the ratty looking under growth. I
have a landscape plan that calls for several Shasta viburnums to be planted
in that spot. I put in a Shasta viburnum last year down the lot line a bit
and it did well, flowering this spring. Some Burkwood vibunums have gone on
clearance for a good price and I am considering substituting them. The area
gets dabbled sunlight in the morning and a few hours of direct sunlight in
the late afternoon.

The nursery also has the Judd viburnurm (Viburnum x Juddii) but I already
have one and while I like it, the plant tends to have a vase shape without
very good screening properties at the bottom.

I don't know if I should go ahead and substitute the Burkwood for the
Shasta? My searches have given a wide range of mature sizes for this
shrub - from 4 to 8 feet high and as wide. Is there a better choice? I
would like something that is at least semi-evergreen in zone 6 because the
view across the ravine in the winter isn't too good.