Korean Viburnum prefers sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soil including clay. It has a rounded, irregular dense form with stiff upright branches. The blooms are showy and fragrant. It flowers on old wood so prune immediately after flowering is completed. Use as a hedge, in shrub borders or a foundation plant. Very fragrant flowers appear in mid to late spring. Fall coloration reddish-burgundy, but inconsistent. The rootstock of grafted plants tends to sucker. Quick ID Characteristic fissuring along old, gray stems Fragrant mid-spring, terminal white inflorescence OPPOSITE leaves are ovate, serrate, and pubescent Inflorescence a hemispherical cyme to 3 inches across Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: The Clemson Cooperative Extension Home and Garden Information Center has a factsheet on common pests and diseases. More information on Viburnum .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Often confused withViburnum plicatum f. tomentosum 'Summer Snowflake'Viburnum x burkwoodiiViburnum x carlcephalumViburnum x carlcephalum 'Cayuga'
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
3 feet-6 feet; 6-feet-12 feet
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 4 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 4 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Rounded
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Brown/Copper; Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Ovate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
2-4 inch long dull dark green to gray-green leaves in pairs, that are copper-colored when young. Undersides are pubescent. Not reliable for fall color.
Fall color
Brown/Copper; Red/Burgundy
Flower color
Pink; White
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower form
Cyme
Flower shape
Tubular
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
The inflorescence is a dense, terminal, hemispherical cyme, 2-3 inches across. Flowers are pinkish to red in bud, white when open, very fragrant, to half an inch wide. Blooms early spring.