Viburnum cassinoides

Common Names

Northern Wild Raisin, Witherod Viburnum, Witherod, Withe-Rod, Wild Raisin, Swamp Haw, Shawnee Haw

Summary

Witherod Viburnum is a native eastern North American broadleaf deciduous shrub that forms a dense, multi-stemmed, rounded crown with arching branches, typically about 5–6 ft tall with a similar spread. Leaves are opposite, simple, elliptic to oblong, 4–10 cm long and 2–5.5 cm wide with shallowly serrate margins and a dull green surface; new growth is chocolate to bronze-tinted. Creamy white flowers appear in flat-topped cymes about 12 cm wide, followed by drupes that change color from green to pink to red to blue to black and persist into fall, and fall color ranges to crimson, purple, or orange-red.

Preferring sun to part shade, it grows in moist to wet well-drained soils and is tolerant of wet conditions in habitats such as shrub and tree swamps, marshes, pond edges, and wet thickets; hardy to USDA Zone 2. It is well-suited to naturalized areas, pond riparian buffers, woodland plantings, hedges, and mass plantings near water, with berries attracting birds and mammals; propagation can be by cuttings or seed, and it offers low-maintenance landscape value with adaptability to a range of conditions once established.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

5-6 ft

Spread

5-6 ft

Hardiness Zones

Zones 3a-8b

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally full sun to partial shade.

Soil Type

Moist to wet soil; pH 4.5–7.5; tolerates clay, loam, and sandy soils.

Soil Drainage

Moist and well-drained soil.

Soil pH

4.5-7.5 (acidic to slightly alkaline)

Bloom Color

White to creamy-white

Bloom Time

Spring

Foliage Color

Dull green, yellow, orange, and reddish-purple in autumn.

Fall Foliage Color

Red to purple, orange, crimson

Leaf Lifecycle

Deciduous

Growth Rate

0.3–0.6 m/year after establishment, moderate growth rate

Seasons of Interest

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Propagation Methods

Seeds, Softwood cuttings

Attracts Wildlife

Attracts bees, butterflies, other pollinators, birds