I could sure use some help identifying this tree. Years ago, I planted three unknown sticks. One survived. It's about 15' tall now. The nursery where I purchased this and many other plants had any number of mis-marked plants. Dave's Garden folks helped me identify another several years ago.
Ah, very nice.
That's Viburnum prunifolium displaying a healthy crop of fruit. Blackhaw Viburnum makes a big shrub or small tree, eventually to the size of a Flowering Dogwood or Redbud.
So, ViburnumValley, you don't think it's a Serviceberry, huh? Well as I stated above, the nursery from whence it came had a labeling issue. Why should I be surprised. I'll check this out. And thank you.
No, definitely not Serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.). That will always have alternate arrangement of leaves along the stems.
Your plant clearly has opposite arrangement of leaves - which fits every Viburnum you'll come across.
Nurseries - can't always trust 'em. I like it better when they say they DON'T know what it is - that's at least honest, if not inspiring your confidence.
You are quite welcome. Don't hesitate to bring further questions.
Within 12 hours of receiving your message, I got an email from a choir friend (to whom I had given a cutting). Her neighbor is a retired nurseryman and he identified it, also. The funny thing is, I know for sure now that the three original "sticks" were mis-marked. I was in to viburnums for a while, but juddii. I had childhood memories of the scent of those fleeting spring blooms and so I planted any number of them near the three doors of my house...just to enjoy the fragrance, albeit briefly. The blackhaw has some outstanding characteristics on multiple levels. Thank you, again.
You are welcome, again.
Had to look up your locale. You are in that hard-to-get-to piece of Virginia.
One of these days, I'm going to use the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel, and then ferry across to Cape May in NJ...
If you like nursery-hopping, you will find many here on the Eastern Shore of VA. I think most of them ship up to the northeast. Alas, not too many of them welcome non-wholesale shoppers. I will say about the crazy, mis-marking one I used to go to, it was like going to a really fun thrift store and discovering any number of "finds". One of my nursery acquaintances has said he'll root some of the blackhaw for our little Montessori school to plant in 2017 for a border of the yard. It's such a nice shrub. Trying to stay cool under the "heat dome" of July....
Good luck on the propagation front - Blackhaw is generally a good willing candidate.
Yes, hotter than a pistol - as my dad used to say. A great big storm just went by about a half mile away - and my porch is still dry. Very thick humidity and steady daily 90s. Yuk.
I'm a landscape architect for the Louisville parks department, and have operated my own business occasionally for about 30 years. Wholesale isn't so much the issue, as distance is. Usually need to have a full tractor trailer load to afford shipping from such places.
