Doublefile viburnum
Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum · Viburnaceae
Branches held in horizontal tiers, lined along the top in late spring with a double row of flat, white, lacecap flowers, like snow lying on the boughs.
- Size
- 8 ft tall, 11½ ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Early May to late May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around doublefile viburnum
The planner designed this bed around doublefile viburnum when this page was made: a 30 × 14 ft (9.1 × 4.3 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why doublefile viburnum stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Doublefile viburnum × 1, white
- 2 Dianthus 'Kahori' × 36, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 50, blue
- 4 Tatarian dogwood 'Ivory Halo' × 1, variegated leaves
- 5 Sneezeweed × 3, yellow
- 6 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 7 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 8 Sweet William × 53, pink
- 9 Lowbush blueberry × 13, white
- 10 Winter heath × 17, pink
- 11 Surprise lily × 3, pink
- 12 Easter lily × 9, white
- 13 Sicilian honey garlic × 8, cream
Why this plant
- The only flat plates. The others are open bowls, dense clusters, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 8 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 Sicilian honey garlic (3½ 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 early May to late May.
- Part of the bed's peak. With dianthus 'Kahori', sweet William, lowbush blueberry and others in late May: 5 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a cottage garden: 146 of the 182 plants (80%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Leadwort repeats along the bed to tie it together. The scheme leans cool (pink, blue and purple) and uses yellow for warmth, with white and cream to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where doublefile viburnum goes in a border
At 8 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.
The layered, horizontal habit is its beauty, so give it room to spread sideways and never prune it into a ball. It needs soil that stays moist.
- A specimen with strong horizontal lines
- Late-spring flowers
- Contrast with upright plants
What to plant with doublefile viburnum
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lady's mantle: low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne': takes over when it finishes, flowering from early June; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Siberian iris: low enough (2½ ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about doublefile viburnum
Does doublefile viburnum need sun or shade?
Doublefile viburnum 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 ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does doublefile viburnum grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 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 doublefile viburnum flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to late May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Early May to late May |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 7 | Late April to mid May |
| Zone 8 | Mid April to early May |
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 doublefile viburnum 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 11½ ft (350 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 8 ft (250 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many doublefile viburnum 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 doublefile viburnum 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.
Is there a native plant like doublefile viburnum?
Doublefile viburnum comes from China, Japan, Taiwan. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Highbush blueberry: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 20 in shorter, 3½ ft narrower.
- Black chokeberry: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 3½ ft shorter, 4½ ft narrower.
- American cranberrybush: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 20 in taller, wants moist soil.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat doublefile viburnum?
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.
Will doublefile viburnum spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Birds spread the seed, and it has begun to escape into woodland in the mid-Atlantic states.
What flowers after doublefile viburnum?
Doublefile viburnum is over by late May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Siberian iris: from late May to late June, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne': from early June to early October, 18 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
What does doublefile viburnum look like in winter?
Doublefile viburnum drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is doublefile viburnum good for bees and butterflies?
Doublefile viburnum is visited by pollinators and butterflies.
More Viburnum
- American cranberrybush Viburnum trilobum
- 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 '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
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for a white garden
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Zone guides: Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
In flower in: May
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 8 ft (250 cm) tall, 11½ ft (350 cm) wide
- Plant
- 8 ft (250 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early May to late May; flat plates; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; dark green, burgundy
- Shape
- Rounded, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Viburnaceae
- Comes from
- China, Japan, Taiwan
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies
- Stands up to
- Drought
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.