The cranberries, or Viburnum sp., are a popular, useful, good-looking group of shrubs. They range in height from the ground-hugging native to shrubs that can be mistaken for trees. All have large clusters of bright white flowers, and later most have clusters of small dark berries that grew from the flowers. Most also have excellent fall color. Usually pest free, they are a highly recommended group of shrubs. I should mention the native bog cranberry, Vaccinium vitis-idaea or lingonberry, which is not related to the Viburnum shrubs. This low-lying shrub produces the most delicious small cranberry fruit, the dream compliment to a roast turkey dinner. Found in wet wooded areas, it is worth the hunt.
The nannyberry, Virburnum lentago, is the tallest of the cranberries, 3-4 metres high, narrower. It does not form a shrubby ball, but has a more upright form with white flowers, black fruit, shiny leaves, red to purple fall color.
The high bush cranberry, Viburnum trilobum, is another large, 3-metre shrub. In maturity it is usually quite open, with white flowers and red fruit with a flat seed. It does have a cranberry flavor, not great.
The wayfaring tree, Virburnum lantana, is perhaps the best choice of the large cranberies. It can grow to 3 metres high, and as wide. These prune very well; thinned out and raised, they make a beautiful "little tree". With fuzzy dark green leaves, white flowers and black fruit, they are a personal favorite.
The arrowwood, Virburnum dentatum, is another largeish shrub, 2 metres plus. It has good fall color, white flowers and black fruit.
The snowberry bush, Virburnum opulus, is a beautiful shrub. The tight white flower clusters form what looks like snowballs. It grows to about 2 metres.
The compactum, Virburnum trilobum 'Compactum' is just a much smaller version of the highbush cranberry, usually under a metre. Non-flowering, tight growing, use it as a foliage statement.
Cranberries, especially the Compactum, are susceptible to the erineum gall mite. Its feeding on the bottom of leaves produces a red felt-like surface, relatively harmless.
Tree Care Articles
Cranberries
- Details
- Written by Kevin R. Lee Kevin R. Lee
- Published: 23 January 2020 23 January 2020
Articles Index
- A Mind Set for Healthy Trees
- A New Tree Care Philosophy
- A Practical Working Model of Your Tree, Part One: Mostly Roots
- A Practical Working Model of Your Tree, Part Three: Leaves
- A Practical Working Model of Your Tree, Part Two: Trunk and Stem
- A weeping apple, some deer, and an arborist
- A Year in the Life of Your Tree - 1
- A Year In the Life of Your Tree - 2
- A Year In the Life of Your Tree - 3
- A Year In the Life of Your Tree - 4
- A Year In the Life of Your Tree - 5
- A Year In the Life of Your Tree - 6
- A Year In the Life of Your Tree - 7
- A Year in the Life of Your Tree - 8
- An arborist thinks on compartmentalization
- An Arborist's Education
- Ash Leaf-Cone Roller
- Ash Trees
- Aspens
- Birch
- Botany 1: The whole tree
- Botany 2: What do trees eat?
- Bud Scars
- Burning Bush
- Calgary Soils
- Calgary weather, snow pack, and the drought
- Calgary, from a tree's perspective
- Calgary's Most Dangerous, Dutch Elm Disease
- Calgary's most dangerous: Pseudomonas syringae
- Calgary’s most dangerous: Black knot
- Calgary’s Most Dangerous: Fire blight
- Calgary’s Most Dangerous: The Yellow-Headed Sawfly
- Caragana
- Caring For Your Trees This Winter
- Cell Walls
- Cherry Shrubs
- Cherry Trees
- Conifer Introduction
- Conifer Shrubs
- Conifers
- Cotoneaster
- Cranberries
- Currants
- Debunking Old Tree Myths
- Demystifying Tree Pruning
- Diagnosing Tree Problems
- Diplodia Gall of Poplar
- Dogwoods
- Dr. Alex Shigo
- Eating Apples and Other Hardy Prairie Fruit
- Elders
- Elms
- Epidermis
- Fall Needle Drop of Conifers
- Fertilizer
- Fertilizer 1
- Fertilizer 2: Trees
- First post Feb 23 2018
- Flowering Crabs
- Forsythia
- Fungal afflictions
- Growing Trees in Calgary
- Growing trees in Calgary, hands-on
- Haiku for spring
- Hardiness Zones
- Hawthorns
- Honeysuckles
- How to Have a Successful Tree
- Hydrangea
- In Defence, the Bronze Birch Borer (BBB)
- Introduction to Botany Talks
- Kate's Mayday
- Lack of connection
- Leaves
- Lilacs: French
- Lilacs: Pruning
- Linden
- List of Best Calgary Tree Choices - Evergreens
- Maintaining your pruning tools
- Maples
- Meristems: SAM and RAM
- Mid-Season Gratitude Post
- Mock Orange
- Mountain Ash
- Mugo Pines 1
- Mugo Pines 2
- Mugo Pines 3: Pruning
- My readers, my reasons
- Native Shrubs
- Needle Casts of Spruce
- Ninebark
- Oaks
- Ohio Buckeye
- Old Hacked Apple Trees -- Pruning a Tangle
- Organic Tree Work, Empowering Trees and People.
- Oyster Shell Scale
- Phloem
- Phomopsis Canker of Russian Olive
- Planting 1: Species selection
- Planting 2: Site selection
- Planting 3: Buying your tree
- Planting 4: Root crown identification
- Planting 5, Digging the hole, planting the tree
- Planting 6: Staking
- Planting 7: Watering
- Planting a Tree - Selection
- Planting a Tree - Setting, Staking and Watering
- Polemic and straight talk: the Swedish Columnar Aspen
- Poplars
- Proper Tree Pruning
- Pruning - More Reasons Why
- Pruning in Calgary with Nature in Mind
- Pruning Theory - Tools
- Pruning Theory - Why?
- Pruning tools you need
- Quotes
- Random thoughts from a Calgary Arborist and Tree Surgeon
- Reference books for Arboriculture
- Roots
- Russian Olive
- Septoria Canker on Poplar
- Shrub Introduction
- Shrub Pruning 1 - Theory
- Shrub Pruning 2 - Size Control
- Shrub Pruning 3 - Final
- Shrub Pruning for Size Control
- Shrub Pruning for Size Control 2
- Shrub Pruning Theory
- Slime Flux
- Soils - 1
- Soils - 2
- Spring?
- Stems
- Symptoms of a dry tree
- Symptoms of a sick tree
- The Mountain Ash
- The Three Cell Types
- Thinking of becoming an arborist?
- Toba Hawthorn: Pruning a tangle
- Tree Poem
- Tree Pruning Theory
- Tree Repair
- Tree Repair - 1
- Tree Repair - 2
- Tree Repair - 3
- Tree Repair - 4
- Trees and Their Interactions with Other Organisms
- Two Failures, Griffin Poplar, Manchurian Ash
- Vascular Cambium
- Walnuts
- Watering
- Watering a Birch
- Watering Calgary Trees
- Western Gall Rust of Pines
- What is Tree Whispering?
- When Should a Tree Be Removed?
- White Fly
- White Spruce
- Why is My Tree Dying?
- Willow Redgall sawfly
- Willows
- Wolf Willow
- Woolly Elm Aphid
- Xylem
- Yellow leaves: Chlorosis