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kelp_gw

covered with flowers

kelp
13 years ago

I just wanted to post a note saying that I purchased a Viburnum dentatum 'Blue Blaze', and it has SOOO many flowers, you can hardly see the foliage. I bought it to pollinate 'Blue Muffin'. It didn't do that, as Muffin's flowers were gone by the time Blaze's flowers opened. So, yesterday I had to go get something flowering now. (I'd rather pollinate Blaze, as it has so many more -- and larger -- flowers than Muffin.) The shrubs flowering now in my local nursery (in zone 6, SE MA) are 'Chicago Lustre', and the straight species. I went with the straight species.

As an aside, Sunday, I went to a local park and ate some serviceberries for the very first time. Wow!!! WAY better than blueberries. Maybe I can find room for some running serviceberries. : )

Comments (8)

  • christie_sw_mo
    13 years ago

    Kelp - Do you have any berries now on your Blue Blaze?
    I have four dentatums: Autumn Jazz, Blue Muffin, Chicago Luster, and the species and somehow none of them bloom together. I do still get some berries though. Chicago Luster has had the most. I think it blooms the latest of my four.
    Maybe you can collect a few berries/seeds from your Blue Blaze to plant.

  • maifleur01
    13 years ago

    Don't know if it will work with viburnum's or if lack of pollenators is the reason you do not have fruit but next year when the plants bloom try shaking the branches. On some plants just shaking them will release pollen into the air which can help with fruit forming.

    Various articles have been written this year regarding the changes of seasons/weather/whatever that have caused the pollenators not to be there when things need pollenated. Similar things are reported for some of the feed stocks that birds and animals have used during their yearly cycle. As I am reading the articles there is a progression, very slowly, from where some plants have been native to other areas closeby where their requirements can be met. Do not be surprised that in a couple of years your plants like Christie's develop cycles that are not what you may want.

  • kelp
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Christie -- I'm happy to report that the 'Blue Blaze' is just COVERED with berries. The straight species doesn't have as many, (as expected, seeing how the flowers were fewer, and smaller) and also, as I thought, (as no other V.dentatums were blooming at the time)the 'Blue Muffin' has one, yes, just one, berry. (I looked thoroughly.) What's strange is, I had a V. nudum 'Brandywine' right next to the 'Blue Blaze', and it too, is covered with berries. The V. nudum 'Winterthur', which I planted directly to the left of the 'Brandywine'(as a pollinator for the 'Brandywine') never even flowered. My guess is that the 'Blue Blaze', or the species V. dentaum pollinated the 'Brandywine'.
    That's my happy news. My sad news is the berries on my V. trilobums got to the point where they were almost all red, but then fell off. Practically all of them. These shrubs are around 10' tall, so I figured I don't need to water them anymore. Do you think that's why they dropped?

  • christie_sw_mo
    13 years ago

    Blue Blaze sounds like a winner!

    I don't know why your v. trilobum berries would fall off. Mine were not drought tolerant at all when they were young. I thought I had made a mistake planting them but they do just fine now. I've had them for several years and only water them if it gets very very dry. I planted 'Onondaga' next to my v. trilobums and I think they pollinate each other.
    It's very good news to me about Brandywine. I planted one of those last year but it didn't bloom this year. It's close enough to my dentatums that they could pollinate each other.

  • kelp
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    What's an "Onondaga'? Is it a V. trilobum cultivar?

  • christie_sw_mo
    13 years ago

    Onondaga is a sargentii cultivar but I think it must be closely related to trilobum. The leaves are very similar and they bloom at the same time for me. Here's a picture of mine from earlier this spring.


    The flowers are pretty but it's not real showy from a long distance.

  • christie_sw_mo
    13 years ago

    This link says:
    "Onondaga' is a superior cultivar of Viburnum sargentiana (sometimes mistakenly listed as V. sargentii)"
    so I guess I was wrong.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Viburnum 'Onondaga' - Paghat's Garden

  • kelp
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    It's gorgeous!