Description
Honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae)
We have had to reduce our offerings of this top-notch native shrub because of an introduced pest, the viburnum leaf beetle. The beetle showed up at the nursery around 2005 and we stopped offering the species a couple of years later. We tried again a few years ago, but beetles lingering on viburnums we have in our landscape quickly moved over to this species (arrowwood viburnum and cranberrybush viburnum are their two favorite hosts). We never purposely sell plants that have pests on them and so decided once again to stop selling the species. That said, beetles don’t seem to be currently reaching the outbreak levels they did close to 20 years ago, an observation supported by others including Cornell University, and it may not be much of a risk for homeowners to plant these two shrubs that are valuable for wildlife.
Here is what Cornell University says:
Is it safe to plant susceptible species again? Maybe. Here’s a 2016 update from Brian Eshenaur, Sr. Extension Associate, New York State Integrated Pest Management Program:
“The viburnum leaf beetle hit us hard in the Rochester area about 15 years ago. During those first few years in which the beetle population peaked most of the susceptible native species like arrowwood, that were growing in wooded areas, were killed. Some landscape plants succumbed to the defoliation then too.
“At that time I would not have recommend planting a susceptible species like the Cranberry bush viburnum. Now however the populations of the beetles are down significantly and it is safe for us to plant species again like cranberry bush and arrowwood viburnums. They’ll get a little bit of damage but nothing lethal.
“Why did the populations go down? It seems with all the very susceptible native plants that were around initially allowed the populations to reach unnaturally high levels and the beetles moved into landscapes annually. With those food sources gone the populations declined. Also, and maybe more importantly, predator insects, and nematodes that affect the larva in the soil have built up and found the Viburnum leaf beetle as a food source!
“This insect went through southern Canada about 30 years ago and they have experienced a similar situation. Now it’s okay to plant susceptible species again, just expect a little leaf feeding.”
How to proceed is the question. Here in 2024 we are still not stocking the two most susceptible species (we do stock other native viburnums that are not as susceptible), but we let anyone who contacts us about buying either arrowwood viburnum or cranberrybush viburnum know about the risk and that we can obtain plants for them if they still desire them. We can obtain the following varieties of arrowwood viburnum – simply contact us about size and pricing:
Autumn Jazz™
Blue Blaze™
Blue Muffin®
Glitters and Glows®
NativeStar® Plum Pudding
Red Feather®
Updated 26 February 2024
