Walton's Plant Library

Brand:  Southern Living

Description:

A wonderful upright spreading shrub with showy dark maroon to copper new growth that re-appears after each pruning; creamy white pinwheel-like flowers in early spring followed by red fruit; has season-long appeal; makes a great specimen or screen

Ornamental Features

Coppertop™ Sweet Viburnum features showy creamy white lacecap flowers held atop the branches from late winter to early spring. It has attractive bluish-green evergreen foliage which emerges coppery-bronze in spring. The large serrated oval pinnately compound leaves are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Coppertop™ Sweet Viburnum is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting birds and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Coppertop™ Sweet Viburnum is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening

Planting & Growing

Coppertop™ Sweet Viburnum will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under average home landscape conditions. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.