2 types of prunifolium to cross pollinate - Ask Extension
I want to plant 11 Blackhaw shrubs (Viburnum prunifolium I think is the scientific name) to create a privacy wall. But I also want them to produce fr...
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2 types of prunifolium to cross pollinate #551005
Asked April 04, 2019, 1:28 PM EDT
I want to plant 11 Blackhaw shrubs (Viburnum prunifolium I think is the scientific name) to create a privacy wall. But I also want them to produce fruit. Do I need another type of prunifolium to cross pollinate or will they pollinate themselves? There's is so much contradicting info on the web. Thank you for all your help.
St. Clair County Michigan
Expert Response
You are correct. Viburnums tend to need another pollinator and not the exact same cultivar. What is needed is something that blooms at exactly the same time. This could be different cultivars of the same species, so planting multiple cultivars of the Blackhaw. I read an interesting old publication from the Arnold Arboretum and it also states that viburnum within a closely related group, they refer to as a Section, will cross pollinate each other and produce fruit. the trick is finding something that is related and blooms at the same time. See table III on page 14 of the following study http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1980-40-1-flowering-times-in-viburnum.pdf
http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1980-40-1-flowering-times-in-viburnum.pdf
http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1980-40-1-flowering-times-in-viburnum.pdf
