Viburnum plicatum Shasta

Viburnum plicatum 'Shasta' is a variety of Chinese viorne with a low and particularly spreading habit, much wider than it is tall, remarkably tiered. It is unique when it blooms : its corymbs of large white flowers open en masse and in double rows along the branches, as if the shrub were weighed down with snow in the middle of June. The deciduous and satiny foliage takes on very beautiful purplish colors in autumn. This viorne, with its hydrangea-like appearance, outshines them with its flowering and prefers sunny exposures. It will thrive in a soil that is fresh and low in limestone.

The Chinese viorne is a deciduous shrub of the Adoxaceae family (formerly classified in the Caprifoliaceae family), native to China and Japan. 'Shasta' is an old horticultural selection introduced in 1979 by the American National Arboretum. This variety stands out from the type by its very accentuated, spreading habit, and its less significant growth. With a horizontal branching, the plant presents a silhouette that is both structured and light, making it attractive all year round, even in winter. At maturity, it will reach about 1.5 m in height by 2.5 m in width, with a rather slow growth. Flowering occurs in May and continues until June. The inflorescences in flattened cymes, 15 cm wide, develop in large numbers and in two rows on the top of the branches. They consist of a peripheral crown of large sterile flowers, well developed, with white elliptical tepals, surrounding small fertile flowers in the shape of beige buds and then white-greenish. The pollinated fertile flowers turn into small red and then black berries at maturity, clustered in generous bunches. The deciduous leaves measure 5 to 8 cm in length, are oval in shape, tapered, strongly veined, with regularly serrated edges. They somewhat resemble those of the hazelnut trees. Their fairly dark green colour is satiny on the upper side, with the underside being more pubescent. The foliage takes on sumptuous colours in autumn

This particularly ornamental shrub deserves a special place in a small garden or at the centre of a mixed border that will highlight summer and autumn blooms, beautiful fruiting, and graphic foliage to not overshadow its beauty. It will be appreciated even in winter, due to its regularly tiered, beautifully stylised branching, with a slightly Japanese appearance. Plant this Viburnum 'Shasta' with other flowering shrubs, such as a sacred bambou, a 'Black Lace' elderberry, a Clerodendrum trichotomum, a Fothergilla, a Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea' whose purple foliage will enhance its pinkish inflorescences and red fruits. It can also be associated with compact photinias, elaeagnus, camellias, pieris, or hydrangeas in non-calcareous soil, the choice is vast. It also deserves to be placed in isolation in a small garden or at the centre of a massif of low perennials and grasses, due to its beautiful presence in winter.