Arrowwood Viburnum

Here's some Arrowwood Viburnum that I (and others) planted this week. Monday mornings I've been participating in Duke Farms' Trail Steward program, which has mostly consisted of inhibiting invasive plants. (Japanese Barberry, Multiflora Rose, and Canadian Thistle, I'm talking about you.) This past Monday we went from playing defense to going on offense; we're attempting to replace the invasive plants with native plants including these Arrowwood Viburnum plants.

If all goes well, these will grow into 6-10' woody shrubs that will provide nutritious berries for our birds. As native plants, they also provide food for caterpillars, including the Hummingbird Clearwing Moths.

The arrowwood part of the name suggests that when grown, it's branches were good for making arrow shafts.

My impression is that the main reason you don't see lots of this growing wild in New Jersey is because of our over-population of White-tailed Deer who presumably eat it to death.

June 14, 2021 at Duke Farms


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