Maple-leaf viburnum - viburnum acerifolium

🍂 Maple-leaf Viburnum 

🔸 Full name

• Common name: Maple-leaved Viburnum, Mapleleaf viburnum (in English)
• Botanical name: Viburnum acerifolium
• Family: Adoxaceae (formerly Caprifoliaceae)
• Type: Deciduous shrub

🌳 General description

• Origin: Eastern North America (open forests and undergrowth)
• Habit: Bushy, rounded, with thin, flexible branches
• Mature height: 1.5 to 2 m
• Width: 1.5 to 2.5 m
• Growth: Medium to slow
• Special features: Hardy shrub, shade tolerant, with three-lobed foliage reminiscent of maple 🍁

🌱 Foliage

• Type: Deciduous
• Leaves: Opposite, three-lobed (3 main lobes like a small maple)
• Size: 6 to 10 cm
• Color: Medium to dark green in summer
• Fall: Beautiful red, purple, sometimes violet coloring 🌈
• Texture: Slightly velvety on the underside
• Special feature: Very decorative foliage that is soft to the touch

🌸 Flowering

• Period: May to June
• Flowers: Small, white, grouped in flat umbels 5 to 8 cm in diameter
• Fragrance: Light, discreet
• Advantage: Very melliferous — attracts bees, butterflies, and pollinating beetles 🐝🦋

🍒 Fruit (berries)

• Type: Ovoid drupes
• Color: Initially red, turning bluish-black when ripe (August to October)
• Special feature: Very decorative and provide food for birds in autumn 🐦
  

🌿 Cultivation and care

• Exposure: Partial shade to light shade (tolerates some sun if soil is cool)
• Soil: Rich in humus, cool to slightly dry, acidic to neutral
• Limestone tolerance: Average (avoid excess active limestone)
• Watering: Regular for the first two years, then tolerates moderate drought
• Pruning:
  • Not much needed—just light pruning after flowering to balance
  • Remove dead wood in winter
• Fertilization: Compost or leaf mold each spring

🧊 Hardiness

• USDA hardiness zone: 3 to 8
• Minimum temperature: Down to -35°C ❄️
  👉 Extremely hardy, tolerates cold climates and harsh winters very well.

🌿 Resistance and health

• Disease resistance: Excellent
• Pests: Not very susceptible (rarely aphids or minor leaf spots)
• Pollution tolerance: Average
• Drought tolerance: Average — prefers slightly moist soil

💡 Advantages

✅ Very hardy (-35°C!)
✅ Unique, beautiful three-lobed foliage in fall
✅ White, honey-producing spring flowers
✅ Decorative fruits that are useful to wildlife
✅ Tolerates shade and forest soils well

⚠️ Points to watch out for

⚠️ Slow growth in the first few years
⚠️ Prefers humus-rich soil—avoid poor, chalky soil
⚠️ Less dense foliage in dry, full sun

🌳 Landscaping uses

• In undergrowth or shaded edges
• In deciduous shrub beds
• In natural country hedges
• In combination with:
  • Lindera benzoin
  • Clethra alnifolia
  • Cornus sericea
  • Itea virginica
  • Hydrangea arborescens
  • Amelanchier canadensis