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Blackhaw Viburnum

Blackhaw's picture

Blackhaw Viburnum (post #12030)

Blackhaw on Sat, 08/01/2009 - 20:40
in

How about all you garden wizards and wizetts enlighten a knucklehead.


any thoughts why a healthy Blackhaw V. won't flower.


having 2 growing seasons and growth to 6-8' ...pt sun.. Zone 6

-A +A
jeana's picture

(post #12030, reply #1 of 5)

by jeana in reply to Blackhaw [original] on Sat, 08/01/2009 - 23:39

Blackhaws are real and proper trees. Yours may not be old enough to bloom. Even with my rustyhaws, they really only bloom (usually) every other year. Once blackhaws get some size to them, they usually bloom every year.

Jeana

Never try to baptize a cat.

Jeana Never try to baptize a cat.
the country gardener's picture

(post #12030, reply #3 of 5)

by the country gardener in reply to Anonymous [original] on Sat, 08/01/2009 - 23:56

You jumped in while I was writing my response! I thought it might be an age thing.

Marty


"The plants have been good to us."  Lester Hawkins

Marty

"The plants have been good to us."  Lester Hawkins

jeana's picture

(post #12030, reply #4 of 5)

by jeana in reply to Anonymous [original] on Sun, 08/02/2009 - 04:13

I've watched one grow up at a friend's house for about 15 years now. It was several years old before I met her. It gets better and better every year, but it does take time. They're a small tree, so unlike alot of the viburnums we normally grow, this one usually doesn't bloom anytime early in life. The blooms and fruit (which can take even longer) are secondary to form.

And you're right, pruning it in the winter will take off bloom buds.

Jeana

Never try to baptize a cat.

Jeana Never try to baptize a cat.
the country gardener's picture

(post #12030, reply #2 of 5)

by the country gardener in reply to Blackhaw [original] on Sat, 08/01/2009 - 23:54

Blackhaw (Viburnum prunifolium) is native to the east and midwest. is not particular about the soil it's growing in and adapts to a wide variety of exposure from full sun to full shade. Lack of bloom can be caused by a few things: poor fertility, lack of sufficient light, improper watering, extreme weather events and pests. Because it is tolerant in its natural setting of all of the first three listed and it's been in the ground for over two years now, I don't suspect any of those, though it never hurts to check soil conditions. Blackhaw blooms in the spring on buds that are set in the winter, so I'm more inclined to wonder if you are pruning it before it blooms and removing the buds, if they're being munched on by deer, or if you may have had some unusual weather in early spring that could have resulted in killing the buds. Some of the Viburnums are well known for not blooming for a few years after planting, and the problem could be as simple as that. Blackhaw is seldom used here in the PNW, so I don't have the experience with it that I have with other species to know with more certainty how that one behaves.

Marty


"The plants have been good to us."  Lester Hawkins

Marty

"The plants have been good to us."  Lester Hawkins

Karen's picture

(post #12030, reply #5 of 5)

by Karen in reply to Blackhaw [original] on Sun, 08/02/2009 - 14:09

I've got blackhaw growing out in my woods. Like Jeana says, it's the bigger trees that flower. I don't think I've ever seen bloom on any of the saplings down there. The ones that bloom do so pretty reliably though, and they get no care except what mother nature throws at them.

North Carolina - zone 7

North Carolina - zone 7