Leatherleaf arrowwood is a vigorous, evergreen shrub or small tree from China, grown for its crinkled, deeply veined leaves and its tolerance of deep shade. It is a species, not a family-wide description, though the genus Viburnum includes many similar shrubs.
Family
Viburnaceae (Viburn family)
Grows as
Tree, Shrub
Light
Shade
Water
Water regularly while establishing, then once established it tolerates periods of dryness.
Soil
Average, well-drained garden soil; tolerates a range of soil types.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; roughly -20 °C to 30 °C, with protection from harsh winter wind and scorch.
How easy
Easy
Native range
SC. China (to S. Shaanxi and Guangxi)
Climate
temperate
About
Viburnum rhytidophyllum, the leatherleaf viburnum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Viburnaceae. It is native to Asia.
This vigorous, coarsely textured evergreen shrub has an upright habit and 8-inch (20 cm) long, lustrous, deeply veined oval leaves with dark blue-green surfaces and pale green undersides. The leaf stems are fuzzy brown. In spring, fragrant creamy-white flowers bloom in clusters. Blue berries form in June and become plump through September, maturing to glossy black. Plants grow 10–15 feet (3.0–4.6 m) tall and wide.
How to grow it
It is commonly grown as an ornamental plant for its evergreen foliage and tolerance of deep shade.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Viburnum rhytidophyllum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.