Viburnum, Highbush Cranberry, Bare Root

American Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum trilobum)

A cool-climate shrub with white flower clusters and bright red fruit. This is American cranberrybush, also called Viburnum opulus var. americanum, rather than a low-growing bog cranberry.

Key Characteristics

A fruit for sauces and preserves

The red drupes are tart, with a distinctive flavor that varies among seedlings. Cook into sauce or jelly and remove seeds during processing.

A food reserve birds may leave for later

Cedar waxwings, robins, and grouse use the fruit. Clusters may remain until repeated freezing and thawing make them more attractive to birds.

Give the fruiting hedge a partner

Use two or more separately grown seedlings of this same plant. The large outer flowers are showy, while the small inner flowers are the fertile part of each cluster.

Product Details

• Native range: Northern North America
• Life cycle: Deciduous woody perennial
• Sun: Full Sun; Part Sun/Shade
• Soil moisture: Medium; Medium-Wet
• Mature height: 8–12 feet
• Bloom: May–June–July
• Bloom color: White
• USDA hardiness zones: 2–7
• Fruit or seed: Tart red drupes used for sauces and jelly; a viburnum, not a true cranberry.
• Pollination: Plant two or more genetically distinct American highbush cranberry seedlings with overlapping bloom for better fruiting.

Planting and Ongoing Care

Keep bare roots moist until planting, water the root zone during establishment, and mulch without covering the crown. Base fertilizer on a soil test; our Tree Planting Kit fertilizer blend can be used according to its label when feeding is needed.

Monitor for viburnum leaf beetle, aphids, and leaf spots. Thin crowded stems and protect flowers from insecticide exposure. Avoid insecticides on open flowers. Seed-grown plants vary in growth, flowering, and fruiting.