Common Name: Witherod, Possum Haw, Southern Witherod

Sun to light shade; wet to moderately dry; prefers wet, mucky soils but very adaptable to gravelly and sandy loams, fine sands, silt loams, silts peats and clay; moderately acid pH.

6-12 feet height by 4-15 feet spread; blooms in June; creamy white flowers; football-shaped, black berries, 1/4-3/8 inch long, in broad, flattened clusters in fall.

Growth Rate:  Medium

Maintenance:  Infrequent disease and insect problems.  Easy to grow.  All viburnums benefit from a thinning or hard pruning in late winter to remove older stems.

Propagation:  Easy from softwood cuttings

Native Region:  Cumberland Plateau, eastern Highland Rim, and West Tennessee uplands

Attractive, well-behaved, deciduous shrub with upright, spreading branches.  Rather foul smelling flowers but outstanding display of berries.  Fruits have a distinctive color change, starting out with whitish pink and then changing in sequence to red, blue, and black.  Fall leaf color is often outstanding, dark red to scarlet and purple.  This  southern V. nudum var. nudum is one of two varieties; the other is the northern V. nudum var. cassinoides.   This variety has glossier leaves.  Birds love the berries.  High wildlife value.