Viburnum rhytidophyllum

I’ve been asked to recommend some plants for a shady part of a garden, and I suddenly remembered Viburnum rhytidophyllum, a handsome shrub with rather an old-fashioned look to it.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum flowers in May

It’s a tough evergreen, with corrugated, thick green leaves with felty undersides. The heads of dull creamy white flowers are opening now – the whole thing is recognisably a viburnum but unlike any of the others. While it might eventually grow quite big (easily to 2 metres in both directions), it would tolerate pruning.

No doubt it would be best in full sun, but my experience of it is that it is remarkably tolerant and could be expected to perform well in pretty much any situation. In shade it might get a bit leggy in time but I’d expect it to stay healthy and give no trouble. A versatile plant.

Tags: corrugated leaves, evergreen shrubs, May-flowering shrubs, old-fashioned plants, plants for shade, shrubs for shade, shrubs with interesting leaves, versatile plants, Viburnum rhytidophyllum