Viburnum odoratissimum - Sweet Viburnum
Family: Viburnaceae | Origin: East Asia
Viburnum Odoratissimum is an evergreen shrub from East Asia that grows beautiful, large smooth and glossy leaves that bud light green and darken to a rich, lustrous green. In the spring it is covered for about a month with an abundance of inflorescences bearing small, white and fragrant flowers. In the summer, small red-black fruits sometimes develop from the flowers.
This is a sturdy bush that grows well in the mountain area in full sun (when some of the leaves sometimes turn red) to full shade. In the hot areas of the country, it is recommended for planting in light shade to partial sun. It likes regular watering and is not fussy as to the type of soil and with reasonable care can be quite long-lived.
Sweet Viburnum, known in Israel as Shiney Viburnum due to its special shine, has a tall and wide natural structure and is excellent as a hedge without much pruning and is also suitable as a focal plant in the garden and behind low bushes.
Without pruning it can grow into a small tree 5-8 meters high and 3-5 meters in diameter and can even be used as a small shade tree in the patio or over a sitting area, a use that is not yet common in Israel.
Unlike its local and well-known brother, Viburnum tinus – מורן החורש in Hebrew, which suffers when grown in containers, the Sweet Viburnum excels in them and can be grown for years in a large pot as a bush or shaped on a trunk as a small tree. It should be watered regularly and fertilized occasionally and under these conditions is resistant to the cold, but prefers it more shady so a location in partial sun to shade is preferable.