Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: downy arrowwood
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Adoxaceae
Native Range: Eastern North America
Zone: 3 to 7
Height: 3.00 to 8.00 feet
Spread: 3.00 to 8.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to July
Bloom Description: White
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize, Rain Garden
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Leaf: Good Fall
Attracts: Birds, Butterflies
Tolerate: Dry Soil, Wet Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil
Interest: Flower
Culture
Best grown in evenly moist to dry, well-draining soils in full sun to part shade. Tolerant of a wide range of growing conditions including clayey, rocky, and alkaline soils, dappled shade, and wetter sites. Flowering and fruiting performance tend to increase with more sun. Plants grown in shade also tend to be more open and sparse with a less dense, bushy growth habit. Hardy in Zones 3-7.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Viburnum rafinesquianum, commonly known as downy arrowwood or Rafinesque's arrowwood, is a multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub native to mesic, bottomland forests and stream banks, as well as dry, rocky upland forests, thickets, and bluff tops from the midwestern United States and southern Manitoba east to southern Ontario and the northeastern United States. Also found with a more scattered distribution in parts of the southern United States. Mature plants will reach around 3-8' tall with a similar spread and a dense, upright to loose spreading growth habit. The oppositely arranged, coarsely toothed, ovate to oblong-ovate leaves will reach 2-3.5" long and 1-2.5" wide with relatively short petioles (leaf stalks) typically less than 0.5" long. The undersides of the leaves have a layer of downy hairs, particularly on the major veins. The foliage turns reddish purple in fall. Rounded, terminal, 1-3" wide clusters of small, white, malodorous flowers bloom in late spring to mid-summer. The blooms are followed by ovoid to ellipsoid, berry-like drupes that will reach up to 0.5" long and mature from green to black in late summer through fall. The flowers are attractive to various insect pollinators and the fruits are readily eaten by birds and mammals.
Genus name comes from the Latin name of a species plant.
The specific epithet rafinesquianum honors French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque (1783-1840).
The common name downy arrowwood refers to the indumentum (covering of hairs) on the underside of the leaves.
Problems
No major pest or disease problems of note.
Uses
Foundation plantings, mixed shrub borders, woodland edges, rain gardens, bird gardens, pollinator gardens. Good fall color.