All viburnums seem to benefit from "cross pollination" with another compatible viburnum that blooms at the same time or least in some overlapping fashion.

It helps to understand that you have plants which are "plain species" (that is, they are just as nature grew them) and you have plants that are cultivars or hybrids of those plants. Your Viburnum trilobum 'Compactum' is a cultivar (cultivated variety) of Viburnum trilobum. So if you have two of those, you need some other type of Viburnum trilobum, either the species plant or another cultivar (e.g., 'Wentworth').

Likewise, your 'Blue Muffin' plants are cultivars and won't do much for each other because they are identical clones of one another. A species Viburnum dentatum or a cultivar like 'Northern Burgundy' or 'Autumn Jazz' (there are many cultivars available). I've also had Viburnum acerifolium work for mine because they happen to bloom at the same time.

I guess 'Michael Dodge' is not so picky or perhaps there was something compatible nearby. In fact, Viburnum dilatatum has shown some invasive tendencies in some northern climates, seeding into natural areas.

I hope you saved some room for some new plants! Hope that helps. There are lots of good threads on viburnums on this forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: This link includes cultivar info for Viburnum plicatum

personally ....

i would not be all that concerned about seed production .. or fruit production ...

on a plant that was shipped cross country ...

and transplanted this year ...

your plants are NOT established...

once established in 1 to 3 years .... then they will be able to produce reproductive seed .... which is what berries are ...

me thinks you are just a bit too anxious .... relax ... keep them properly watered.. research pollinators, as you are ... and sooner or later... you will probably have more berries than the birds can eat.. and you will be complaining about volunteers in the garden ...

good luck

ken

If you are planting for the birds, you might want to find out WHICH kinds of birds like the berries. I planted Arrowood Viburnum and the tall cranberry trilobum, along with Elderberry bushes. NONE of the birds around here eat those berries. They stay on all winter, fall off when trimmed or new growth appears.

I was really surprised to see this, but it has been 4 winters with berries staying on. They were all chosen for flowering and berries into winter. I got rid of the Arrowood and am planning on moving the one Elderberry. I planted two and had no informational card on it, so they have outgrown the space. I will move the one Elderberry into my woods, should be happy there. I love the flowers on both the Elderberry and cranberry, while the Arrowood was disappointing so I gave it away to a friend making a hedge of mixed bushes.

I guess the darn birds didn't read the book on shrubs or don't like those berries. Maybe I don't have the right birds to eat them in my area. This is why you should check on what kind of birds like the berries before planting, if bird feeding is important to you. Cranberries are red for color, but the others were black, not interesting in winter.

Wow, thanks for all the help and advice.

esh ga you did a great job of explaining the general rules of when another cultivar was needed and I do have space! Lucky me. And, I also realize that maybe they just need a little time. I am hoping the birds enjoy what I plant, but if not, that is fine. I have quite a few bluebirds around and am hoping they might be interested as I know late winter they resort to berries and fruit when insects are unavailable. And, if they are not interested, well then it means my goal of having a beautiful and interesting winter garden is achieved.

Teresa

Just for my two cents worth, I grow many different viburnums, and the deer definately perfer V. dentatums to any of the others, so much so, that after many years I have yet to see berries on the 'Blue Muffin' or its pollinator, 'Red Feathers'. I'm thinking of removing them.

Teresa - What part of Missouri do you live in? You might enjoy the Ozarks Forum here at Gardenweb. I'll post a link below.
I have several viburnums. I had a viburnum trilobum that still wasn't producing many berries after a few years so I added 'Onondaga' and it sure seemed like it helped. It's a very pretty shrub with some red in the leaves in spring but both get burned leaves in late summer. Mine are in full sun.

I planted some viburnum dentatums for birds and have the plain species, Blue Muffin, Autumn Jazz, and Chicago Luster. Chicago Luster is the only one that gets a lot of berries and I don't know why. Their bloom time is short but I thought Blue Muffin bloomed at the same time as my species yet both of them only got a handful of berries. Chicago Luster bloomed later and has a million berries on it. Something must have pollinated it but not another dentatum. I have viburnum prunifolium near it but I don't remember if they bloomed at the same time.

I have 'Shasta' too. It's grown mostly for its flowers rather than its berries I think, so maybe you don't need a pollinator for that one.

Some viburnums are native and some aren't. Just be cautious any time you're looking for a pollinator for a non-native shrub. Make sure it's not something that will take over.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ozarks Region Gardening

Teresa......You said you were pleased by the size of the plants you got from ForestFarm. Did you get tube-sized plants or 1-gallon or 5-gallon container size? I'm thinking about ordering a viburnum and a pieris from them. Shipping is so expensive that I'm game for erring on the side of the tube size as long as the plants aren't tiny.

Thanks!

We have received, and planted, over the past few years several viburnums from Forest Farm. They came 4 plants to the box and were about 12 inches tall when shipped. They grow slowly and most, if not all, had no berries the first full growing season. Most were shipped and planted in the fall--with the exception of the V. dilatatum, which were shipped and planted in the spring of '06. The dilatatum included 2 'Iroquois', 1 'Asian Beauty' and 1 Michael Dodge. This was the first year that all have berries. We have also received V. burejaeticum and I must admit that it is perhaps the most unimpressive of our entire Viburnum collection which includes V. lantana 'Varigatum' (a beautful plant and the quality of the foliage, its texture, is as impressive as the color of the leaves), a 'Mohican', a 'Summer Reflection' (very nice in its 3rd full growing season here), a 'Cayuga' (established next to a x carlcephalum for purpose of cross pollination and fruit) and the carlcephalum (my absolute favorite for its incredible fragrance and its tree-like habit and size), a rhytidocarpum (nice and large and good habit, I like it a lot), a V. lantana (plucked up from the road side just 2 miles west of town---any wonder why it is also known as the Wayfaring tree?), a pragense (really beautiful with its waxy sheeny leaves and evergreen appearance in the coldest of winter), several Korean Spice, which freely spouts up in the beds from the seeds--this is the easiest viburnum to reproduce, just pluck up the volunteers and put them down where-ever you desire), and finally, we have several planted around which are the result of the cross pollination of all the above described. What a joy to experience these plants and plant the seedings sprouting up and waiting to see if perhaps we too may have, one day, a new Viburnum 'cultivar' --however, if that happens, who can say what the parents were?? We wouldn't be able to testify as to the ancestory other than, possibly, all or any of the above. Oh, almost forgot to mention the first love, Alleghany, six were BB and planted in the spring of 2001. Now about 12 feet tall and incredible for their tight, full habit, dark green, leathery folige, abundant fruit, great flowering the spring, and always show perfect--except a bit tattered by winter's end. Alleghany is what hooked us on Viburnum. Saw them for the first time in the winter at Spring Mill State Park Lodge in Indiana and had to have them in our yard so wasted no time in discovering what name, what type, were these beautiful plants and good busy acquiring and planting.

Wow, thanks everyone for all your advice and sharing your expertise. Like all of you, I really like viburnums so am happy to see all these responses. Almost wish there was a "Viburnum" forum!

Teresa

I too have often wished for and thought there should be a separate viburnum forum. How does one go about requesting a new forum? I mean, there are forums for hot peppers and lucky bamboo for goodness sakes; surely there's enough interest to justify a separate forum for this huge and popular group of shrubs.

I, too, never tire of my viburnums or talking about them. They are the almost-perfect shrub. I would love to see a viburnum forum.

Pops,
I couldn't agree with you more about Alleghany. As the plant matures, the foliage improves in color, texture and density. It is almost evergreen here. It is beginning to produce more berries and requires no care of any kind. This is the only plant I grow that gets comments from guests about the beautiful, rich foliage.

Help! I have a Viburnum, but don't know what kind. The problem is it doesn't bloom. I bought it 3 - 4 years ago, and it was blooming then. It hasn't bloomed since. It's planted in clayish soil and is in a partial sunny area. Any suggestions?

Well, if you want us to identify your viburnum, you must post a photo of it. I am not technologically competent and so do not know how to do that myself. Just avidly and passionately in love with Viburnums. However, do not get the wrong idea. My wife of 45 years loves them as much as I. Only our grandchildren receive such attention, or more, than our Viburnum "children."