Viburnum, Nannyberry, Bare Root

Nannyberry Viburnum (Viburnum lentago)

A tall shrub or small tree for a mixed food forest or native hedge. Ripening fruit can show several colors in one cluster before it becomes blue-black.

Key Characteristics

A harvest to check in stages

Fruit does not all ripen at once. Wait for fully ripe blue-black drupes and remove the stones for jam, jelly, or cooked preparations.

Host foliage beside the crop

Spring azure butterflies use nannyberry as a host. Leave some healthy leaf feeding and fruit for wildlife within the planting.

Make room for height

Use it toward the back of a shrub layer rather than in front of low perennials. Several seed-grown nannyberries provide a better fruiting group than one isolated plant.

Product Details

• Native range: Northeastern and midwestern North America
• Life cycle: Deciduous woody perennial
• Sun: Full Sun; Part Sun/Shade
• Soil moisture: Medium; Medium-Wet
• Mature height: 15–18 feet
• Bloom: May–June
• Bloom color: White, Cream
• USDA hardiness zones: 3–7
• Fruit or seed: Sweet blue-black drupes when fully ripe; use fresh or for preserves, removing the large stones.
• Pollination: Plant at least two genetically distinct nannyberry 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.

Provide airflow to limit powdery mildew. Inspect leaf spots and viburnum leaf beetle damage before choosing a treatment. Avoid insecticides on open flowers. Seed-grown plants vary in growth, flowering, and fruiting.