Viburnum rhytidophyllum Seeds | Leatherleaf Viburnum
LATIN NAME: Viburnum rhytidophyllum
COMMON NAME: Leatherleaf Viburnum
Plant Profile
Leatherleaf viburnum is the evergreen for gardeners who want broad, bold foliage but cannot quite provide the shelter such a shrub needs. The leaves are the reason for the name: long, narrow, deeply wrinkled by parallel veins, dark green above and covered beneath with a dense felt of star-shaped hairs that rusts to brown as the season goes on. They stay on the bush through most of the winter and are dropped in spring, so the plant is technically semi-evergreen rather than truly evergreen. In late spring it covers itself in flat heads of small creamy flowers, and in autumn the berries turn from red to black, which is unusual in the genus and cuts the display short. It grows six to ten metres in the wild, and four to six in gardens, with a coarse, open habit that needs pruning to stay dense. It comes from the mountains of central and western China, in Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi.
Science & Biotechnology
Viburnum rhytidophyllum is in the Viburnum genus of Adoxaceae, a family that also holds Sambucus, and it sits with the leatherleaf group of section Tomentosa, whose members are distinguished by those stellate hairs. The hairs are a real adaptation, not decoration: they reflect light, reduce transpiration and deter some insects, and they are dense enough to give the underside its colour. The species is self-compatible but sets much better fruit with a second clone nearby, which is why garden plants often flower heavily and fruit poorly. It is one of the viburnums most damaged by the viburnum leaf beetle, Pyrrhalta viburni, a European insect now established in North America whose larvae strip the leaves to lace in early summer. Cultivars differ in susceptibility, and the hybrid Viburnum x rhytidophylloides inherits some resistance.
Uses & Benefits
It is a screening and structure plant: bold, coarse, tolerant of shade and dry ground once established, and able to hold a north wall where little else will. The winter foliage is the point in a mild garden, and the spring flower heads are good in a vase. The berries, which turn black as they ripen, feed birds late in the season but are not for people. The wood is small and of no commercial value. In Chinese practice the bark and roots have had local use as an astringent and for bone complaints, but the genus’s real medicinal profile belongs to other species, cramp bark and black haw among them, and this one is not a substitute. Its main drawback is the leaf beetle, which can defoliate a hedge in a season.
Growing from Seed
Sow seed in autumn and leave the pots outdoors, or give three months of warm followed by three of cold, since the seed has a double dormancy and will not germinate in one season. Germination is slow and often staggered over two springs. Use a humus-rich, well-drained mix, keep it moist but not wet, and give the seedlings light shade in their first summer. Pot on when they are ten centimetres, and plant out at thirty to forty. The species tolerates a wide range of soils, including chalk, and does well in sun or half shade, though the best foliage comes in light shade with moisture at the root. Prune after flowering if the frame becomes leggy, and watch the undersides of the leaves for the beetle’s larvae in May.
Our Take
A bold, semi-evergreen screen for shade and dry ground, with wrinkled leaves that need no excuse. Give it room, a second clone for fruit, and an eye out for leaf beetle.
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