What month does viburnum bloom?

Answer 1

Viburnums bloom in the spring. Specific time actually depends on the species of viburnum, the geographic location, and the current season's weather. The bloom period can be intense but is usually not particularly long. Cultivars of a given species are generally expected to overlap in their blooming periods, but sometimes a particular cultivar of a given species might not overlap in bloom period with other cultivars of the species. In the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast regions of the USA, the best one can say without more particular species and geographic information is that many species of viburnums bloom in late April (some a bit earlier), a number bloom in May, and some in June. Bloom dates can be somewhat earlier in warmer localities and later in cooler localities. A few viburnums can lightly re-bloom sporadically later on in the summer. Some people plant their viburnums expecting the berries they see in pictures and on plant tags. All viburnums can be expected to bloom. Just keep in mind that if you are expecting late season berries most viburnums require a "nearby" plant of the same SPECIES identity that ALSO HAS sufficiently different "individual" genetic identity within it in order to pollinate each other effectively. Sometimes a closely related viburnum species might work. Multiple plants of the same species cultivar ('xxx---xxx' implies a cultivar name) are actually genetic clones with no genetic variation among themselves and will not produce berries with each other. Therefore, for pollination of viburnums and thus berries, one needs to use different cultivars of the same species, or different plants of the same species grown directly from seed (i.e., seedlings), or a relatively closely related AND KNOWN TO BE compatible viburnum species. Only one of these genetically distinct but compatible plants in the garden will do the job as long as the bloom periods overlap and the pollinating insects are around. However, the greater the variety of sufficiently closely related compatible but genetically distinct individual viburnums one has in the garden/neighborhood the better --- difficult if everyone is buying the sole species cultivar [clone] being sold in bulk by the various local nurseries. Also, a very few viburnum cultivars (mostly developed for spectacular bloom size and longer bloom periods) are just plain sterile and will never produce or help in producing berries should you want them. It is annoying how many local nursery people or plant tags do not convey this sort of simple pollination information to buyers. While it's a little bit more complicated than the simple male vs. female compatibility issues with holly species, it's not rocket science. It's just a matter of stocking at least two different (and locally bloom time compatible) cultivars for each viburnum species sold and labeling them as compatible with each other. TJW