Highbush Cranberry Bush

The Viburnum Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum opulus) is a large and hardy deciduous shrub with a moderate growth rate of up to 3 feet per year. With its arching stems and a very dense, rounded form, this makes a popular landscaping choice attracting wildlife, especially birds which benefit from the fruit. The fruit can remain on the branches well into mid winter. Leaves are opposite 3-lobed and 2 to 4 inches long, glossy dark green in the summer but often change to yellow-red or red-purple in the fall. Flowers are clusters of showy white flowers in June. The flowers are self-fertile, so there is no need for a second plant for fruit production, the flowers are pollinated by both wind and insects.  Berries are round with a stone-like core and bright red. Berries are juicy, quite acid, like a cranberry. The seeds ripen from August to September. Like cranberries, they are rich in vitamin C and so have a tart, acidic taste (best after a frost and when picked slightly under-ripe), produces frui