Why plant Audubon® Native Nannyberry Viburnum Big?
If you’re wanting to fill up a big, blank space or block an ugly view, Nannyberry Viburnum is at your service! This big, bountiful Accent will give you something pretty to look at, and it will bring in the birds, too. You’ll enjoy watching the berry-like fruits morph from green to yellow to hot pink to navy blue in late summer, and then you’ll enjoy watching the birds reap the harvest. Bluebirds, Cedar Waxwings, robins, Purple Finches, catbirds, grosbeaks, and Hermit Thrushes are fond of them. You may want to graze on the fruits as well! They’re sweet and safe to eat.
Nannyberry gets its name from the notion that the plant—in particular, the overripe fruit—smells like a nanny goat. It is also known as “Sheepberry” for the same reason. Such an unfair assessment! In truth, you may be able to detect a slight sheepy scent, but it is very faint, and you won’t notice it unless you make a concerted effort to do so. Hikers in the Northwoods might encounter this shrub near streams or in low woods. It is native to eastern Canada and down into the Great Lakes States and New England.
How to use Audubon® Native Nannyberry Viburnum Big in the landscape?
Nannyberry has other seasonal highlights to offer, such as a bevy of creamy-white flower clusters in late spring. They offer pollen and nectar to native bees and hoverflies. In autumn, the glossy green leaves take on burgundy and red hues.
Planting Zones
Hardiness Zone: 3-8
How To Plant Audubon® Native Nannyberry Viburnum Big
Plant your Nannyberry Viburnum in full sun for the greatest flower and fruit production. It blooms less in part shade, but will grow happily there as well. It prefers rich soil, though this adaptable plant will accept most well-drained sites without complaint.
How To Water
Provide water on a weekly basis and mulch with wood chips, bark, or pine straw to conserve moisture and moderate temperatures in the root zone.
How To Fertilize
Incorporate Elements Starter Plant food granular form into the soil when planting. If planting in spring or summer, start fertilizing late fall using Elements Starter Plant food granular form on an annual basis each late fall. Continue this for the first three years to get your plant well established.
How To Prune
Left on its own, Nannyberry becomes a large thickety shrub (which is great bird nesting habitat). You can, however, turn it into more of a tree by removing the suckers when they appear.