Paul’s Plant Picks: Viburnum dilatatum ‘Henneke’ Cardinal Candy

This has been a great autumn for dazzling fall colour in the garden. Each day I stop and take in the beautiful vistas throughout the TBG gardens, Edwards Gardens, and the surrounding ravine system. With all this eye candy competing for our attention, you might miss some of the outstanding fruit-bearing shrubs. One that I like in particular is Viburnum dilatatum ‘Henneke’ Cardinal Candy. A group of these shrubs can be seen along the path between the Perennial Border and Nature’s Garden. This Viburnum cultivar truly offers multiple seasons of interest. In mid- to late spring, it’s covered with dense clusters of fragrant, creamy white blooms that pollinators simply can’t resist. These flowers are followed by masses of vibrantly coloured berries, which offer great fall and winter appeal. Do not worry about having to remove or clean up these berries, the birds– in particular, waxwings–will visit your garden and take care of it for you. And if all this wasn’t enough, this shrub also has good fall colour.

Viburnum dilatatum ‘Henneke’ thrives best if planted in full sun to part shade. Plants will reach five to six feet or taller, and have about a four to five foot spread. I hope you have the opportunity to visit our gardens and see these beautiful specimens for yourself.

Did you know that beneath the perennial border, there are two large underground cisterns that capture and store up to 60, 000 litres of rain water, which is then used to irrigate our garden?.

Reminder: for more about our gardens, check out Head Gardener Sandra Pella’s What’s in Bloom blog.