Plant Patent #12,879. Cultivar: 'Henneke'. This Viburnum is simply never out of season! No matter when you care to admire it, this super-hardy little shrub has something to offer, be it white blooms, gigantic clusters of shiny red berries, or deep red foliage! What a year-round joy for the foundation planting, border, or hedge!
Cardinal Candy™ is well-named, for the birds will think that the gates of heaven have opened when they see the thousands upon thousands of small, very shiny, scarlet berries this shrub offers from late summer right through midwinter! Polish your binoculars and get out your field guides -- your garden is expecting LOTS of company, especially as winter sets in and less food is available for the birds.
But berries are just one part of its show. The fun starts in late spring, when tons of creamy-white flowers, held in nice 5-inch clusters that really show up across the yard, simply cover this well-branched shrub. After the blooms pass, the fruit sets, followed in fall by the turning of these deep green leaves into rich tones of russet, mahogany, and wine-red. Handsome! And after the leaves fall, the berries remain on the intricate silhouette of the shrub.
Cardinal Candy™ is more than just a pretty face, however. It has been found to be exceptionally hardy, surviving a -25 degree F cold spell that killed off all other Viburnums in the garden. Very adaptable to most soils, levels of moisture, and light exposures, Cardinal Candy™ is ideally grown in full sun to partial shade, but will make itself at home almost anywhere. It reaches 4 feet tall and wide after about 5 years, and tops out at 5 feet a year or two later. For a solid wall of color, space plants about 4 feet apart. Then get ready for the show! Zones 4-7.
