Viburnum utile
Service Viburnum
China
Bean describes the plant as, "pretty graceful" while Dirr calls it, "rather scraggly" and Krussmann says, "loose...thinly branched". I have seen plants that would fit all of these descriptions. The 3 year old plant at the University of Delaware Botanic Gardens is dense and 2 feet tall and as wide.
Full sun to partial shade, although the shade may encourage
As specimen (assume habit remains tight) or better in groups. A bird-attracting plant.
Alternate, ovate to oblong, entire although wavy, 1 to 3 inches long. Dark green above and pubescent, whitish beneath.
Terminal cymes, to 3 inches across in May. Flowers are white about .33 inches across.
Drupe, bluish black.
Cuttings, seed.
There are no cultivars of V. utile proper, but it is one of the parents of V. x burkwoodii and its cultivars. Additionally, V. utile has been used in backcrosses to produce these cultivars:
'Chesapeake' - 6 to 10 feet, 2 to 3 inch diameter flattened inflorescence.
'Conoy' - 5 feet tall and 7 feet wide in 17 yr, flattened inflorescence 2 to 2.5 inch.
'Eskimo' - 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide in 12 yr, inflorescence 3 to 4 inch snowball shaped.
