American cranberrybush
Viburnum trilobum · Viburnaceae
A large native shrub with maple-like leaves, white lacecap flowers in spring, red autumn colour and clusters of translucent red berries that hang on into winter.
- Size
- 10 ft tall, 10 ft wide
- Zones
- 2 to 7
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late May to mid June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around American cranberrybush
The planner designed this bed around American cranberrybush when this page was made: a 30 × 14 ft (9.1 × 4.3 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why American cranberrybush stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 American cranberrybush × 1, white
- 2 Winter heath × 24, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 46, blue
- 4 Blue holly × 1, blue-green leaves
- 5 Brown-eyed Susan × 11, yellow
- 6 White mugwort × 3, cream
- 7 Eastern bee balm × 5, pink
- 8 Wood sage 'East Friesland' × 19, purple
- 9 Palm sedge × 5, green leaves
- 10 Purple coneflower × 3, purple
- 11 Betony 'Hummelo' × 5, purple
- 12 Wild strawberry × 19, white
- 13 Turk's cap lily × 6, orange
- 14 Crown imperial × 7, yellow
- 15 Hardy gladiolus × 7, pink
Why this plant
- The only flat plates. The others are bells, dense clusters, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 10 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to brown-eyed Susan (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late May to mid June.
- Fills no gap. Every week it is in flower, at least three other kinds are too. It thickens a season that is already full.
Planned as an English border: 27 of the 29 groups (93%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 50% of the visual weight and the right half 50%. There is more leadwort than anything else, 46 plants in all.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where American cranberrybush goes in a border
At 10 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
Interest in three seasons, and berries the birds leave until late winter. Buy the native form; the European cranberrybush looks the same but is invasive in places.
- Native hedges and screens in cold climates
- Winter berries
- Moist soil
What to plant with American cranberrybush
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Winterberry: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same moist soil.
- Red twig dogwood 'Arctic Fire': its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about American cranberrybush
Does American cranberrybush need sun or shade?
American cranberrybush grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does American cranberrybush grow in?
USDA zones 2 to 7. It is hardy to zone 2, which means it survives winter nights down to about −40 °F (−40 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does American cranberrybush flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to mid June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Early June to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 5 | Late May to mid June |
| Zone 6 | Mid May to mid June |
| Zone 7 | Early May to early June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should American cranberrybush be planted?
8 ft (250 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 10 ft (300 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 10 ft (300 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many American cranberrybush plants do I need?
Usually one. At 8 ft (250 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 8 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is American cranberrybush poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat American cranberrybush?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after American cranberrybush?
American cranberrybush is over by mid June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Oakleaf hydrangea: from mid June to early August, 6½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Hollyhock: from early July to late August, 6 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Delphinium: from late June to mid July, 5 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does American cranberrybush look like in winter?
American cranberrybush drops its leaves and stands as bare branches: it is grown for winter berries. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is American cranberrybush good for bees and butterflies?
American cranberrybush is visited by pollinators and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Viburnum
- Arrowwood viburnum Viburnum dentatum
- Arrowwood viburnum 'Blue Muffin' Viburnum dentatum 'Christom' (Blue Muffin)
- Bodnant viburnum 'Dawn' Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn'
- Burkwood viburnum Viburnum x burkwoodii
- David viburnum Viburnum davidii
- Doublefile viburnum Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum
- Doublefile viburnum 'Mariesii' Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum 'Mariesii'
- Judd viburnum Viburnum x juddii
- Koreanspice viburnum Viburnum carlesii
- Laurustinus Viburnum tinus
- Mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium
- Viburnum 'Summer Snowflake' Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum 'Summer Snowflake'
- Witherod viburnum 'Winterthur' Viburnum nudum 'Winterthur'
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants for a white garden
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 10 ft (300 cm) tall, 10 ft (300 cm) wide
- Plant
- 8 ft (250 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late May to mid June; flat plates; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green, red
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 2 to 7
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Viburnaceae
- Comes from
- North America
- Attracts
- Pollinators, songbirds
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.