Yang Viburnum
V. davidii x V. propinquum ‘NVCX3’ (PP# 33,203)View more from Viburnum
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Botanical Name
V. davidii x V. propinquum ‘NVCX3’ (PP# 33,203)
Outdoor Growing zone
7-9
Mature Height
1-2
Mature Width
3-4
Sun needs
Full Sun, Partial Sun
The Yang Viburnum is a new hybrid evergreen bush, growing low and wide, reaching perhaps 2 feet tall and spreading up to 4 feet wide. It has leathery, glossy leaves with 3 pronounced veins, and is very similar to the David Viburnum, but much easier to grow well in areas with hotter and more humid summers. The handsome foliage is topped with clusters of small white flowers in spring, which if pollinated by the YIN Viburnum develop into bunches of turquoise-blue small berries by late summer and through fall. Fabulous evergreen for the front of beds or in woodland settings.
A spot with at least morning sun is best for your Yang Viburnum if you want berries, but it will grow in light full shade as well, for the foliage. Any well-drained soil suits it, but moist, richer, and slightly acidic soils are best. It isn’t normally bothered by pests or diseases, and it requires little or no pruning to stay low and broad, giving an excellent look to your garden.
Viburnums are available in both deciduous and evergreen types, and for warmer zones where they will grow, the evergreen ones are especially desirable for the year-round foliage they bring. Of them all, one, the David Viburnum, is the most coveted, for its broad, dense growth, fabulous ribbed leaves, and most of all for the extraordinary blueberries it produces. Sadly, although possible with effort in other areas, it is only in the cool, damp conditions, with warm winters, of the Northwest that it really thrives and gives its best. What is a gardener who has admired this beauty to do, if they are in warmer zones? This thought also haunted Dr. Thomas Ranney of North Carolina State University, and he decided to do something about it. The result, the amazing Yang Viburnum, a hybrid plant of the David Viburnum, which captures its unique beauty, including those incredible berries, but in a plant that is much happier in hotter, more humid zones in the Southeast. The same broad, low growth, very similar ribbed evergreen leaves, and, if grown with its favorite pollinator, the similar Yin Viburnum, a heavy crop of wonderful blue berries. What a winner!
The Yang Viburnum is a low-growing evergreen shrub, densely branched and bushy, growing to around 2 feet tall and about 4 feet wide, making a lovely low mound. The leaves grow densely on the branches, and they are about 2 inches long, in opposite pairs along the branches. They are smooth, glossy, and tapering ovals, with a pointed tip and smooth edges. They are slightly leathery, and young leaves are mid-green, maturing to a beautiful and rich dark green. Three pronounced sunken veins run along the leaf, giving it a distinctive and attractive look.
In spring flower clusters form at the ends of the branches. These are 2 to 4 inches across, with many tiny white flowers in them. When pollinated by the Yin Viburnum, they develop into clusters of up to 50 berries, each around ¼ inch long, which begin green and then by fall are a beautiful dark wedgwood blue.
This gorgeous evergreen, with its broad, low form, is a natural for the fronts of beds, perhaps where they meet a path or patio, and for planting underneath trees. It will give your beds a great finish, or in smaller settings plant a cluster as a highlight, perhaps at a corner, or beside steps. Three feet apart is about right for group plantings or edging. It’s a good companion to azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias too, or in open woodland gardens. It makes sense to plant it with the Yin Viburnum, which grows taller but is otherwise very similar. That way you will have both covered in berries, and enjoy their evergreen foliage as well. In zones 8 and 9 you can also use this as a container or planter box shrub for year-round good looks.
The Yang Viburnum is only hardy in warmer zones. It grows well in zones 7, 8 and 9, even in areas with hotter summers, where the David Viburnum won’t grow so well.
The Yang Viburnum will tolerate considerable shade, but it does grow best, and produce more flowers and therefore berries, when grown with at least 4 hours of direct sunlight each day. Morning sun is ideal, giving it the protection of afternoon shade. In zone 7, with good watering, it would grow well in full sun. the ideal soil is rich, moist and well-drained. Acid soil is also enjoyed, but not strictly necessary.
Faster growing than the David Viburnum, the Yang Viburnum is not troubled by significant pest or disease problems, if grown in rich but well-drained soil. It doesn’t need much, or any trimming, but pruning back any taller branches in spring will keep it really neat, low and compact – the ideal look
Dr. Thomas Ranney is a well-known horticulturist and plant breeder at South Carolina State University in Raleigh. Working at their Mill River facility he crossed together plants of Viburnum davidii with plants of Viburnum propinquum, and then crossed some of those seedlings to develop better garden forms. Viburnum davidii is a popular garden shrub where it can be grown, coming originally from western China and named by Ernest Wilson after the French missionary and naturalist, Armand David. Viburnum propinquum is a similar but taller evergreen with blue-black berries, also from western China, and much easier to grow in average gardens in the Southeast. In 2012 Dr. Ranney selected a seedling which was called `NCVX3`. It was patented in 2021 and named Yang for its release by Spring Meadow Nursery under their Proven Winners® brand.
The Yang Viburnum, and the similar YIN Viburnum, are a great pairing, bringing terrific evergreen foliage into your garden, and the unique pleasure of these lovely blue berries. Plant the Yang Viburnum alone for lovely low evergreen foliage, if the berries are not important to you. We are sure this exciting new pairing is going to become very popular, so order your plants now – our supply is limited.