Leaf
Salicyna, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Bodnant viburnum
Viburnum × bodnantense Stearn
Also known as: Winter viburnum
Family: Adoxaceae
2.5 to 3 m tall
Gardens and parks throughout France, planted near paths and entrances for its fragrant winter flowering
Flowering: November - March (full flowering in January-February)
Full sun
Part shade
Hardy, to -15 to -20°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
It dares to flower in the depths of winter, sometimes under snow, and perfumes the whole garden while almost nothing else is in bloom.
🍃 Leaves
Deciduous, ovate, toothed, coppery bronze at bud break then dull green, sometimes tinged with red in autumn
🌸 Flowers
Small tubular flowers, pink to pinkish-white, very fragrant, gathered in dense clusters on bare wood in midwinter
🍎 Fruits
Small blue-black drupes, rare in cultivation
🪵 Bark
Grey-brown branches, upright and stiff habit
🗺️ Distribution
Garden hybrid raised at Bodnant (Wales) around 1935 from Viburnum grandiflorum and Viburnum farreri, now planted throughout France
🐝 Value for pollinators
Precious nectar in midwinter for the few insects active in mild weather
✂️ Horticultural uses
One of the most widely planted winter-flowering shrubs in France for its powerful scent that perfumes the garden in the depths of winter, notably the cultivar 'Dawn'
⚠️ Possible toxicity
Fruits slightly toxic if ingested, as in most viburnums
🌿 Other Adoxaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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