# Possumhaw Viburnum (Viburnum nudum) > A glossy-leaved viburnum for wet ground whose berries turn pink, blue and purplish black, often all at once in the same cluster. Also called smooth witherod, southern wild raisin, swamphaw, Viburnum cassinoides. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/possumhaw-viburnum/ ![Possumhaw viburnum (Viburnum nudum) in bloom, creamy flower clusters among glossy leaves](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/possumhaw-viburnum-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: SB Johnny, CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AViburnum_nudum_flowers_8601.JPG)* ## Facts - Type: Shrub - Mature height: 5 to 12 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 5 to 9 - Grows wild in: Floodplain forests, stream banks, the coast, swamps and wet flats - Native range: 20 states and the District of Columbia, north to New York, south to Florida and west to Texas (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia) - Sun: Full, Part, Shade - Soil moisture: Average, Wet - Growth rate: Medium - Traits: Tolerates wet soil, Wildlife value, Fall color, Showy flowers, Edible, Tolerates shade - Sold as: Saplings, Seed Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. ## Availability Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed. ## Notes Possumhaw viburnum is a rounded, many-stemmed shrub of wet ground in the East and South. Its leaves are smoother and glossier than those of most viburnums, and its fall color is always good. It is the southern counterpart of witherod, sold by nurseries as Viburnum cassinoides, which some botanists count as a variety of the same species. Kentucky, New York and Pennsylvania list it as endangered, at the inland and northern edges of its range. Plant it by a pond or in a rain garden, where its roots stay damp and the fruit can be seen from the house. ## Size, growth and what to expect It grows at a medium pace, about a foot and a half a year in our growth estimator. It makes a rounded shrub 5 to 12 feet tall and as wide. Plants up to about 20 feet. Flat clusters of fragrant, creamy white flowers open from April to June. The fruit ripens from August to October, turning from green to pink to blue and purplish black, with every color in one cluster at once. It is acidic but edible. Songbirds, grouse, wild turkeys and squirrels eat it. It grows wild on the coastal plain from Connecticut to Florida and Texas, and north to Arkansas and Kentucky. Its home is savannas, bogs, swamps and low, wet woods. ## How to grow Possumhaw Viburnum Possumhaw viburnum grows in full sun, part shade or shade. It does best in an acid soil that stays moist, and it takes wet, boggy ground and floods. Plant it 6 feet from a wall, and set plants 6 feet apart for a hedge or a group. At its size it can go within 15 feet of overhead wires. Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch ring clear of the stems. Pick the fruit once it turns dark blue-black and clean off the pulp. The seed needs no chilling, so sow it half an inch deep in spring. Seedlings come up within a few weeks of warm weather. Water weekly through the first summer unless the ground stays wet. Deer browse the twigs and leaves, so cage young plants where deer are many. It needs little pruning. If it needs shaping, prune lightly in fall, since cutting after bloom removes some of the late summer fruit. More than one shrub gives the best crop of berries, so plant two or more together. No serious pest or disease troubles it. Its leaves feed spring azure caterpillars, and NC State Extension lists it as a possible host of the hummingbird clearwing moths. ## Sources - [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Viburnum nudum](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/viburnum-nudum/) - [Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Viburnum nudum](https://plantfinder.mobot.org/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=278959) - [Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Viburnum cassinoides](https://plantfinder.mobot.org/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=278979) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Viburnum nudum](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=VINU) - [Florida Native Plant Society: Viburnum nudum](https://www.fnps.org/plant/viburnum-nudum) - [Virginia Tech Dendrology: possumhaw viburnum](https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=465) - [Trees and Shrubs Online (International Dendrology Society): Viburnum nudum, from Bean](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/viburnum/viburnum-nudum/) - [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008), Viburnum chapter](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Viburnum.pdf) - [Rounsaville and others 2026, Viburnum lantanoides (Adoxaceae): leveraging epicotyl seed dormancy characterization to optimize seedling regeneration protocols, Plants 15(13): 1985](https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15131985) - [Native Plant Network, Kujawski and Davis 2001, USDA NRCS Norman A. Berg National Plant Materials Center: Viburnum nudum](https://npn.rngr.net/renderNPNProtocolDetails?selectedProtocolIds=caprifoliaceae-viburnum-362) - [NatureServe Explorer: Viburnum nudum](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.154233/Viburnum_nudum) - [Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves: Kentucky Rare Plant List, September 30, 2022](https://eec.ky.gov/Nature-Preserves/biodiversity/Documents/2022%20Kentucky%20Rare%20Plant%20List%202.pdf) - [New York Natural Heritage Program: Southern Wild Raisin guide, and the Plant and Animal Status List](https://guides.nynhp.org/southern-wild-raisin/) - [Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program: Species and Natural Features List, updated June 2026](https://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/Species.aspx) - [Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection: Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015](https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DEEP/wildlife/pdf_files/nongame/ETS15pdf.pdf) - [Go Botany, Native Plant Trust: Viburnum nudum](https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/viburnum/nudum/) - [Indiana Department of Natural Resources: Endangered, Threatened, and Extirpated Plants of Indiana, 10/29/2025](https://www.in.gov/dnr/nature-preserves/files/np-etrplants.pdf) ## Read before planting - [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md) - [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md) - [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md) - [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md) - [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md) - [Native trees and shrubs for butterflies and moths: host plants first, nectar second](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-butterflies-and-moths/index.html.md) ## Related - [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Possumhaw Viburnum, add ?species=possumhaw-viburnum with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=possumhaw-viburnum&zone=5&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Possumhaw Viburnum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=possumhaw-viburnum): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard. - [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=possumhaw-viburnum - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Possumhaw Viburnum is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=possumhaw-viburnum - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Possumhaw Viburnum needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=possumhaw-viburnum:2 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Possumhaw Viburnum flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.