Help ID viburnum & suggest alternative plants

5 years ago

I purchased this viburnum 4 years ago that was labeled Moonlit Lace. The tag indicated it would grow to 3-4’ high and wide. I’m thinking it was mislabeled because it seems to want to be much bigger than that, easily growing to 5-6’ wide X 8’ tall each summer. I’ve had to prune it back drastically each year, sometimes more than once a year, to keep it from taking over the space. I love the plant. It is a lovely dark green year-round and has beautiful, very fragrant flowers for 2-3 weeks each spring. So far it has never made berries, probably because I keep cutting it back. I’ve searched online trying to identify it and seems to be most similar to viburnum pragense or rhytidophyllum. Any ideas what it might be?

I think I’m going to move it this fall to someplace it can grow to it’s full potential. I need suggestions for an alternative plant. I’d like something evergreen, but with more interest than just a plain green shrub. It really needs to stay around 4’ wide and not exceed 6’ tall. I’m not opposed to some annual pruning/shearing to maintain shape, but so don’t want to be fighting it to stay in that range. Fragrant flowers would be a plus. I also love all the chamaecyparis, so something smaller in that family would be good. The area gets about 4-6 hours of morning/early afternoon sun. I’m in north Georgia US, zone 7. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

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Comments (5)

Embothrium
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Yes, it does not have the same leaves as that one:

https://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/7046/moonlit-lace-viburnum/

But I don't see a resemblance to anything involving leatherleaf viburnum either. At least one showing obvious leatherleaf morphological characters, whatever the involved genetics. Since the one yours was supposed to be was probably supplied by Monrovia perhaps if you search the rest of their site for viburnums maybe the kind you ended up with will appear. There having been a mix up at their end.

Otherwise maybe it's one of the US National Arboretum Indian tribes series hybrid viburnum introductions. Your description and photo do suggest a background including Viburnum x burkwoodii, and that is one that was part of the USNA program:

https://www.usna.usda.gov/science/plant-introductions-and-releases/fact-sheets-awards/
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Of course it's hard to ID from just one photo and there's nothing for scale. It does sort of resemble V. 'Conoy', which is a cross between V. utile and V. × burkwoodii ‘Park Farm Hybrid’. It is evergreen, I assume?
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Embothrium
5 years ago
Yes.
kendravicknair
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks for the replies. Looking at the sources suggested above, I’m very confident that it is some cultivar of burkwood. I don’t think it s conoy based on the description suggesting it would be wider than it is tall. Mine definitely wants to be taller rather than wider.

Given that info, that it is probably a burkwood, if I wanted to maintain it as a 6 ft high x 4 ft wide by shearing, would I lose all of the flowering? I’ve been planning to just move it this fall, but if I could keep its size in check without losing the blooms, I might leave it.
Deb C
5 years ago
Hi, Kendra. There's a newer variety of viburnum that's smaller than most and might meet your needs. It's called Mini Man. I planted a 1-gallon size 2 years ago, and now it's about 2 feet high and wide. Of course, the plant will grow larger in your climate than it will in my Colorado climate, but this little guy might be worth a look.