Viburnum cylindricum

At a glance

Lifecycle
Perennial (hardy)
Exposure
Full sun
Frost limit
−23.3 °C

Cultivation

An easily grown plant, succeeding in most soils but ill-adapted for poor soils and dry situations. Plants are self-incompatible and need to grow close to a genetically distinct plant in the same species in order to produce fruit and fertile seed. The flowers are sweetly scented.

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Germination can be slow, sometimes taking more than 18 months. If the seed is harvested 'green' (when it has fully developed but before it has fully ripened) and sown immediately in a cold frame, it should germinate in the spring. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame or greenhouse. Plant out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer of the following year. Cuttings of soft-wood, early summer in a frame. Pot up into individual pots once they start to root and plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8 cm long with a heel if possible, July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood, winter in a frame. They should root in early spring - pot them up when large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer if sufficient new growth is made, otherwise keep them in a cold frame for the next winter and then plant them out in the spring. Layering of current seasons growth in July/August. Takes 15 months.

Edible uses

An edible oil is obtained from the seed.

Medicinal uses

The oil from the seed is used to soothe itchy skin.

Material uses

An oil from the seed is used as a luminant. Wood - hard, close grained.

Habitat

Rather dry forests, mainly with rhododendron and oak, 1200 - 2400 metres from Himachel Pradesh to S.W. China.

Native range

E. Asia - China to Burma and the Himalayas.

Same genus