The Spring Red Compact Cranberrybush Viburnum (Viburnum trilobum ‘Spring Red’) is a beautifully colorful, dense, and compact shrub with a naturally upright, rounded habit. The flowers are fragrant and showy, white lacecap blooms in May and call pollinators in droves! Spring Red is grown for its foliage of a mass of red-tinged leaves in the spring which matures to glossy dark green by summer before it transforms into burgundy for autumn.
The flowers are followed by a heavy harvest of bright red berries in October or November. Birds and wildlife love them! Even though these typically have little or no fruit, there is just enough for the birds and some winter interest. But you’ll enjoy less mess, so go ahead and use near sidewalks and around seating areas.
Using several shrubs also ensures the best berry production. You’ll love how the sweet blossoms develop into bold orange-red berries that coordinate beautifully with the rusty-red foliage fall color. This variety of the native Viburnum is very hardy throughout USDA 3 to 7, these are incredibly cold hardy ornamental shrubs!
Planting and Application:
Use this Viburnum to make a superb and easy-to-grow border plant, or can also be grown as an exciting informal hedge. These colorful and naturally rounded shrubs look fantastic on the corner of your home’s foundation or as the foundation shrubs themselves! You’ll enjoy three-plus seasons of color and interest! Your butterflies and wildlife will adore these shrubs too!
Plant as low hedges and privacy that doesn’t just block prying eyes or that eye-sore, while slowing wind, noise, and snow. These are also fantastic for rows and gropings that provide food and shelter for pollinators and songbirds! It’s great to use in the background of a mixed shrub border. Plant them on the sunny side of taller evergreen trees, as well, to give them a little boost of visual interest.
- Fragrant White Flowers in Spring
- Gorgeous Pointed Lobed Leaves
- Red Berries & Burgundy/Orange Foliage in Autumn
- Cold-Hardy & Mid-Sized Shrubs
- Foundation, Hedges, Low Privacy & Wildlife Interest
Tips for Care:
Spring Red does not tolerate prolonged drought or dense shade. It prefers full sun but will grow in partial sun. It does best in moist, well-drained, loamy soils, but will tolerate less-than-ideal conditions and heavier clay soils. These are deer-resistant and juglone-tolerant shrubs that are very low-maintenance and carefree!
Wait to prune until after those amazing flowers are finished in spring. It’s rare to need to tip prune, but you can shorten up the ends of branches right after flowering if you’d like. You can also skip tip pruning and renewal prune only if you wish to have fruit for birds. Remove the largest, thickest stems from the ground every 3 to 5 years and gradually rejuvenate your shrub. Leave the young stems in place, which will flower nicely for you next spring.
- Sun To Part Shade
- Moderate Moisture Needs & Appreciates Mulched Beds
- Almost Any Well-Drained Soil Type
- Deer Don’t Prefer The Taste –Â Juglone Tolerant
- Cold Hardy Cultivar Native to North America
Handsome foliage and changing color throughout the spring, summer and fall, the Spring Red Compact Cranberrybush Viburnum is going to be your new favorite landscape workhorse!
