Which Viburnum is this? - Ask Extension
I purchased three 5' Viburnum dentatum (Arrowwood) in Spring of this year. They are straight as arrows with thin, glossy leaves with very serrated lea...
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Which Viburnum is this? #276383
Asked September 07, 2015, 5:54 PM EDT
I purchased three 5' Viburnum dentatum (Arrowwood) in Spring of this year. They are straight as arrows with thin, glossy leaves with very serrated leaf margins as seen in first photo. Last month I bought another plant labeled Viburnum dentatum, this time from a nursery in VA. When I brought it home I compared the two and they seem to be different plants. The leaves on the 3' VA plant are very thick, not glossy, and have smooth (not pointy) serrated leaf margins. I have tried 'keying' it with the Cornell key but still am dumbfounded...can they be the same species and yet so different? I label my plants and can't convince myself these are the same species. Photo 2-3 are of the VA plant. Thank you for your help.
Anne Arundel County Maryland
Expert Response
There is some variability in leaf shape among Viburnum dentatums. This occurs especially when you are dealing with hybrids or plants of the same species but from different regions. Look at viburnum dentatum in Google images and you be able to see some of the variability.
Plants grown in sites with more or less intense sunlight could explain the difference you are seeing in the leaf thickness. Plants adapt their leaves to available sunlight. So, the same shrub could have leaves that appear somewhat different two years in a row if, for example, you pruned away overhanging branches and exposed them to more sunlight the second year.
ECN
Plants grown in sites with more or less intense sunlight could explain the difference you are seeing in the leaf thickness. Plants adapt their leaves to available sunlight. So, the same shrub could have leaves that appear somewhat different two years in a row if, for example, you pruned away overhanging branches and exposed them to more sunlight the second year.
ECN
On the other hand--it's still possible this may be two different viburnums. Next spring when they produce flowers and fruit you should be able to tell definitively.
ECn
ECn
