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Viburnum planting zones

Viburnum covers 2a–9a, but the zone is only half the answer. All 6 types below carry their flower display through the spring freeze window, so the date that window closes in your zone decides whether a late freeze costs you a season of flowers.

Published October 23, 2026 · Cite this page

The types

Which viburnum you are choosing between

Type Zones A late freeze
Nannyberry Viburnum lentago 2a to 8b, then too hot Exposed Native, durable, 12 to 18 feet (Penn State); fruit with a sweet, date-like flavor when ripe (Minnesota).
American cranberrybush Viburnum trilobum (V. opulus var. americanum) 2a to 7b, then too hot Exposed Lacecap flowers and red fruit that persists into winter; about 10 to 13 feet (Minnesota, Penn State).
Arrowwood Viburnum dentatum 3a to 8b, then too hot Exposed Penn State’s most versatile native, 6 to 10 feet — and the viburnum leaf beetle’s favorite.
Blackhaw Viburnum prunifolium 3b to 9a, then too hot Exposed Large, with edible fruit; Penn State finds it mostly in the southern half of Pennsylvania.
Mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum acerifolium 4a to 8a, then too hot Exposed Small, 3 to 6 feet, with lobed leaves; does well in dry shade (Penn State).
Witherod Viburnum cassinoides 3a to 8a, then too hot Exposed Also called northern wild raisin and possum-haw (Penn State).

Zone ranges and bloom habit are a judgement — horticultural convention, not a measurement, and the same standing as the heat ratings on our crop tables. Everything below this panel is measured.

Zone by zone

Which viburnums are hardy where, and when the freeze lands

The two left columns come from the variety table above — a judgement. The two right columns are measured: they are the median last spring freeze across every NOAA station the zone’s ZIP codes actually cite, and how much later the one-year-in-ten freeze arrives.

Zone Hardy here Flowers exposed Last spring freeze 1 year in 10
2a 2 of 6 2 only 13 stations — too few to publish a range
2b 2 of 6 2 only 8 stations — too few to publish a range
3a 4 of 6 4 only 10 stations — too few to publish a range
3b 5 of 6 5 May 12 – May 30 across 92 stations about 14 days later
4a 6 of 6 6 May 6 – May 27 across 298 stations about 14 days later
4b 6 of 6 6 May 2 – June 1 across 477 stations about 14 days later
5a 6 of 6 6 April 28 – May 31 across 718 stations about 14 days later
5b 6 of 6 6 April 22 – May 28 across 752 stations about 15 days later
6a 6 of 6 6 April 18 – May 24 across 1004 stations about 16 days later
6b 6 of 6 6 April 11 – May 19 across 991 stations about 16 days later
7a 6 of 6 6 April 5 – May 9 across 941 stations about 17 days later
7b 6 of 6 6 March 30 – April 26 across 679 stations about 16 days later
8a 5 of 6 5 March 20 – April 16 across 689 stations about 17 days later
8b 3 of 6 3 March 7 – April 17 across 700 stations about 19 days later
9a 1 of 6 1 February 15 – April 6 across 446 stations about 22 days later

“Hardy here” and “flowers exposed” are a judgement, from the variety table above. The freeze dates are measured — NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, and the range is across the stations the zone’s own ZIP codes cite rather than one station chosen to speak for it.

Why the date matters

Your zone does not tell you your last freeze

Across the 12 zones above that publish a range, the median last spring freeze varies by 34 days inside a single zone — 18 days even in the tightest, zone 3b, and 50 in the widest, zone 9a. Two gardens with the same zone on the label can be a month apart on the date that decides whether viburnums flower.

And the median is not the risk. Across the 6,082 NOAA stations serving these zones, the freeze that arrives one year in ten lands a median of 16 days after the median date, and 21 days after it at the tenth of stations where that tail runs longest. A variety marked exposed above has its flowers standing in front of that whole window, not in front of one date.

⛔ We publish no temperature at which a bud is lost. NOAA’s normals give dates, not damage thresholds, and inventing a number to bridge the two is the one thing this site refuses everywhere else. What is on this page is when the freeze arrives and which flowers are out when it does.

Which viburnum

A Penn State Master Gardener notes that the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists 24 species and varieties of viburnum in North America, most in the eastern United States, and that availability of the natives is mixed. The ones the sources describe:

ViburnumSize and siteSource
Nannyberry (V. lentago) 12–18 feet, grown as a bush or small tree; prefers moist, fertile, loamy soil; zones 2–8Penn State; Minnesota
American cranberrybush (V. trilobum) About 10–13 feet, lacecap flowers, red fruit into winter; full sun to part shade; zones 2–7Minnesota; Penn State
Arrowwood (V. dentatum) 6–10 feet; moist to average soil; the most versatile and adaptable native, often in retail nurseriesPenn State
Blackhaw (V. prunifolium) Large, with edible fruit; mostly the southern half of PennsylvaniaPenn State
Mapleleaf viburnum (V. acerifolium) 3–6 feet, lobed leaves; does well in dry shadePenn State
Hobblebush (V. lantanoides) Large and scrappy; moist woods in northern Pennsylvania; drooping branches root where they touchPenn State
Dwarf European viburnum (V. opulus ‘Nanum’) 2 feet by 3, full sun to part shade; zones 3–8Minnesota

For wildlife, Penn State says many native viburnums host the larvae of the spring azure butterfly and the hummingbird clearwing moth, and their fruit, high in lipids, feeds migrating and wintering birds.

Why one viburnum gives little fruit

Penn State says viburnums are generally self-incompatible: flowers on a single plant will set little or no fruit. For a real crop, grow two or more, usually of the same species, whose bloom times overlap — and they must not be clones of each other, which nursery plants grown from cuttings of one mother plant are. Buying from different nurseries, or planting different cultivars, is one way to get genetically different plants.

Penn State notes that one grower now sells two arrowwood varieties together in one pot so they can cross-pollinate.

Pruning

Penn State lists viburnums among the shrubs that bloom on old wood, setting next year’s flower buds shortly after they flower this year, so prune them soon after flowering.

For an overgrown, multi-stemmed viburnum, University of Minnesota Extension describes rejuvenation pruning: cut all the canes as close to the ground as possible in early spring. That season’s flowers may be lost, but within one growing season the shrub looks like a new planting. For older shrubs that are not that far gone, it suggests renewal pruning instead — up to a third of the oldest, thickest stems each year.

Viburnum leaf beetle

Penn State calls the viburnum leaf beetle invasive and highly destructive, says it favors arrowwood, and notes it has been found in many Pennsylvania counties.

Winter is the time to act, Penn State says: females insert their eggs into small twigs, where they overwinter. Check viburnums for twigs with egg-laying scars and prune them out, which removes the eggs before the larvae can feed in late spring.

Diseases

DiseaseSignsManagement (Penn State)
Botryosphaeria canker Leaves on affected branches wilt and die; branches die back with dark pimple-like fungal structuresPlants under drought stress are most susceptible: water to prevent drought stress, prune infected branches
Downy mildew Angular spots between the veins that die and shrivel in wet spring weather; badly affected leaves fallRake and destroy fallen leaves in autumn, avoid overhead watering in spring, fungicide at the first sign
Powdery mildew White fungal growth on the upper leaf surfaceLittle damage; no control recommended unless severe

Common mistakes

We found no Texas A&M or UF/IFAS source on viburnums, so southern advice on this page is limited, and the warm-end zone limits in the type table are convention. In Texas or Florida, ask your county extension office.

Your ZIP code

Your ZIP, your answer

Enter your ZIP code to see your USDA zone, which of the 6 types on this page are rated for that zone and when its late-freeze window runs, read from the table on this page, and the freeze dates of the NOAA station nearest you.

Works for all 40,502 US ZIP codes. Freeze dates need a NOAA station within 100 km; where there is none, the page says so rather than estimating one. Your ZIP code stays in your browser: the page downloads the file of ZIP codes that share its first three digits and looks yours up there. It is not stored or tracked.

Your answer appears here.

Full details for any ZIP code: ZIP code zone finder.

Questions

Why does my viburnum have no berries?
Penn State Extension says viburnums are generally self-incompatible, so a single plant sets little fruit. Plant two or more genetically different viburnums, usually of the same species, whose bloom times overlap.
When should I prune viburnum?
Soon after it flowers. Penn State Extension lists viburnums among the shrubs that bloom on old wood, setting next year’s buds shortly after this year’s bloom.
How do I control viburnum leaf beetle?
Penn State Extension says check viburnums in winter for twigs with egg-laying scars and prune them out, which removes the eggs before the larvae feed in late spring. It notes the beetle favors arrowwood viburnum.
Which viburnum grows in dry shade?
Penn State Extension says mapleleaf viburnum, 3 to 6 feet tall with lobed leaves, does well in dry shade.
What zones do native viburnums grow in?
University of Minnesota Extension rates nannyberry for zones 2 to 8 and American cranberrybush for zones 2 to 7. Ranges for the other types on this page are a judgement, labelled as such.

Sources

Freeze dates on this page are NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, for every station the ZIP codes in each zone cite. Zones are the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. The type table is a judgement, as labelled above. Growing advice is quoted from the extension publications below, each written for its own area.

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Published October 23, 2026

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