Sugar n’ Spice Viburnum Is a Sweetly Fragrant Shrub for Spring
Plant it near a path
Sugar n' Spice Koreanspice viburnum offers a profuse spring bloom of nicely fragrant flowers, carried on a neat round shrub. Moderate in size, this viburnum remains four to six feet tall, placing its flowers close to nose level and allowing for placement near a path, doorway or window for maximum enjoyment.
Common name: Sugar n' Spice Koreanspice viburnum
Botanical name: Viburnum carlesii Sugar n' Spice ('J.N. Select S')
Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Flowers: Round heads of tubular white flowers cover the shrub in mid-spring, after leaf out. The blossoms open from light pink buds. The flowers have a pleasantly sweet fragrance that is quite noticeable.
Foliage: The leaves are oval in shape with toothed edges and a nice deep green color from spring to autumn. Then they turn a strong shade of red for fall before dropping away.
Related: Read about witherod viburnum, a North American species with highly colorful fall berries and leaves.
Habit: Sugar n' Spice viburnum is a deciduous shrub reaching 4 to 6 feet tall and wide, with a rounded shape.
Related: For architectural branching and lacecap flowers, try a doublefile viburnum like the compact cultivar Steady Eddy.
Origin: The species Viburnum carlesii is native to Korea and Japan. The cultivar Sugar n' Spice ('J.N. Select S') was selected in 2000 from open-pollinated seedlings at Johnson's Nursery, a wholesale grower in Wisconsin.
How to grow it: Koreanspice viburnums succeed in part shade, but full sun creates the best flowering and habit. They prefer moist, fertile soil with good drainage. With these needs met, the shrub is easy to grow. Sugar n' Spice has a naturally rounded shape, a slow growth rate and a moderate mature size, so if sited appropriately it should not need pruning, but if desired this task should be done just after the spring bloom ends. Next year's flower buds will form over the summer. USDA Zones 5–9.
Images courtesy of Plants Nouveau
