Habitat

• native to Korea
• zone 5, or warmer parts of 4

Habit and Form

• a deciduous small shrub
• multistemmed
• 4' to 6' tall with an equal width
• rounded shrub with upright spreading branches
• slow growth rate
• medium texture

Summer Foliage

• deciduous leaves in an opposite arrangement
• simple leaves with irregular toothing
• elliptical leaf shape with rounded leaf base
• 2" to 4" long and 1" by 2.5" wide
• dense pubescent on underside of leaf with some pubescence on upperside of leaf as well
• dull green color

Autumn Foliage

• reddish fall color
• not reliable

Flowers

• perfect pinkish white flowers
• individual flowers are small only 0.5' in diameter
• blooms late April
• flowers are borne in dense cymes, up to 3" in diameter
• fragrant

Fruit

• small, egg-shaped drupe
• red maturing to black
• matures August to September

Bark

• gray and fissuring
• young stems have pubescence
• two types of buds; vegetative and reproductive
• vegetative buds are naked and downy
• reproductive buds are large clusters

Culture

• prefers well-drained, mildly acidic soil
• full sun to partial shade
• flowers on new wood
• buy plants on their own rootstocks to avoid sucking

Landscape Use

• shrub borders
• for fragrant flowers
• mass plantings
• for fruiting effect

Liabilities

• bacterial leaf spot
• nematodes
• rootstocks tend to sucker

ID Features

• fragrant flowers
• vegetative buds are naked and downy
• reproductive buds are large clusters
• small, black, egg-shaped drupe
• deciduous leaves in an opposite arrangement
• simple leaves with irregular toothing

Propagation

• by cuttings
• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

'Aurora' - A newer selection that is gaining a foothold in American horticulture, this selection has a superior floral display. The clusters are larger with pink-white blooms that open from deep pink buds. The fragrance is very strong. The plant grows larger, to 8' tall.

'Compactum' - A very fine plant that was originally introduced by a Rhode Island nursery in 1953, this dwarf form offers fragrant spring blooms on a plant that seldom exceeds 3' tall and wide. The foliage is a healthy dark green and disease resistant.

'Cayuga' - This hybrid selection (with V. carlcephalum) was introduced by the U.S. National Arboretum and is considered a superior plant. It is a larger, dense grower that reaches 5' tall with reddish fall color. Early spring is greeted by white flowers arranged in globular cluster that emerge from pink buds.