Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Rusty Blackhaw

Viburnum rufidulum

Also called southern black haw, rusty nannyberry, bluehaw.

Glossy, leathery leaves that turn deep red in fall, white flower clusters in spring and sweet blue fruit, on a small southern tree.

Showy flowersFall colorEdibleWildlife valueDrought tolerantBears young

Type: Small tree
Mature height: 10–20 ft
USDA zones: 5–9
Growth rate: Slow
Sun: Full, Part
Soil moisture: Dry, Average
Grows wild in: Dry uplands, rocky ground, stream banks, old fields and edges
Native range: 18 states, north to Ohio, south to Florida and west to Texas
List all 18
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia
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Rusty blackhaw is the southern counterpart of blackhaw, a suckering shrub or small tree named for the rust-red hairs on its buds, leaf stalks and leaf veins. Its thick, glossy leaves set it apart from the dull leaves of blackhaw, and they are a little larger. Where their ranges meet, the two cross. Its low flammability suits it to the planting zone around a house in fire country. Grow it as a small tree at a patio corner or in a mixed screen, where the fall color can be seen from the house.

Size, growth and what to expect

Rusty blackhaw grows slowly, about a foot a year in our growth estimator. It makes a small tree or large shrub 10 to 20 feet tall and as wide. Trees up to about 30 feet.

Rounded clusters of small white flowers up to 5 inches across open from March in the South to May in the North. The fruit ripens dark blue in September and October, an oval about three eighths of an inch long, sweet and mealy. Cardinals, cedar waxwings, robins, grouse and turkeys eat it. Deer, chipmunks and squirrels take it too. The leaves turn deep purple to bright red in fall.

It grows wild from Virginia to Florida and west to Kansas and Texas. Its home is dry, rocky woods, thickets, stream banks, glade edges and bluffs.

How to grow Rusty Blackhaw

Rusty blackhaw takes full sun or part shade, and it grows denser in sun. It wants a well-drained soil, dry to moist, and it takes clay, sand and limestone. Once rooted it rides out drought. Plant it 15 feet from a wall and 15 feet from overhead wires, since some trees pass 20 feet. Set trees 10 feet apart for a screen.

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 spread mulch over the roots, clear of the trunk. Seed needs 6 to 17 months of warm, damp conditions and then 3 to 4 months of cold. Sow cleaned seed outdoors in late fall, an inch deep, under wire against mice. Seedlings come up the second spring, about 14 months after sowing.

Water deeply through the first two summers in dry weather, then only in long droughts. A mulch helps it hold moisture. Deer browse it only moderately, but cage young trees for two winters where deer or rabbits are many. It flowers on old wood, so prune right after bloom. Pull root suckers unless you want a thicket.

A good crop of fruit needs a second tree nearby, so plant two or more. Seedlings start to bear at about 5 years. No serious pest or disease troubles it, though the viburnum leaf beetle can chew the leaves.

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

Sources (13)