Viburnum opulus
Guelder rose
Common names: European cranberrybush, Water elder
At a glance
- Light
- Partial shade
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −28 °C
- Harvest
- Sep–Oct
- Spacing
- 250 cm, rows 300 cm
- Water need
- High
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: Waitblock · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
Description
The guelder rose (Viburnum opulus) is a native shrub that produces flat, white flower heads in May and bright red, translucent berry clusters in autumn. The raw fruits are inedible and bitter; when cooked and sweetened they can be used for jelly or syrup. It serves as an important winter food source for birds and a rich nectar source for insects.
Care instructions
Plant in autumn (October, week 42) in a sunny to partially shaded spot with moist, nutrient-rich soil; it thrives near water and in damp low-lying areas. Water generously during dry periods. Prune after flowering (June, week 24) to preserve flower buds for the next year. In early summer watch for the snowball leaf beetle and strengthen the shrub by ensuring good site conditions.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
HarvestSep–Oct
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
loamy, clayey, humus-rich, moist, nutrient-rich
It is best planted in a fresh to moist, humus-rich spot with nutrient-rich, loamy-clay soil. Its natural habitats are stream banks, riverside woodland and damp woodland edges. It tolerates drought poorly, but short spells of wetness well. Lime-rich soils do not bother it; it grows from slightly acidic to alkaline. Enrich sandy soils with ripe compost before planting.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Mar–Apr
In early spring, work in a dose of ripe compost shallowly around the base of the shrub, or apply it as a mulch layer; on poorer soils, mix in a little horn shavings as well. Do not be too generous with nitrogen, otherwise the shrub becomes reluctant to flower and more susceptible to problems. On well-supplied soils, the annual dose of compost is entirely sufficient.
Overwintering
Guelder rose is native and fully hardy. You do not need to protect established shrubs in the Central European lowlands. Only freshly planted specimens and container plants need covering with leaves or brushwood in the first winter, and the pot should be placed against a sheltered house wall so the root ball does not freeze through.
Propagation
Methods
- Cuttings
- Layering
- Division
- From seed
The most reliable way to propagate guelder rose is by semi-ripe cuttings. In early summer (June to August), take non-flowering shoot tips 8 to 15 cm long; each cutting should have at least two pairs of leaf nodes. Remove the lower leaves and insert the cuttings into a free-draining mix of sand and perlite, or into seed or coir compost. Place the pot in a bright spot, but not in full sun, keep the compost evenly moist and provide high humidity, for example under a propagator lid or in a cold greenhouse. After about 6 to 8 weeks roots have formed, and you can then prick out into individual pots.
The easiest propagation is by root suckers: over time, guelder rose forms suckers of its own at the edge of the shrub. In spring, cut off a strong, rooted sucker with a spade, lift it out together with its root ball and plant it straight away in its new position. Water generously for the first few weeks until the offset has established.
Layering also works well: in spring or early summer, bend a young shoot close to the ground down to the soil, lightly wound the bark on the underside at one point and fix the shoot into the soil with a stone or peg, leaving the shoot tip sticking out. After a few months the layer has formed roots of its own and can be separated from the mother shrub and transplanted in autumn or the following spring.
Sowing is possible, but laborious and slow. Harvest ripe berries in autumn (September to November), soften the pulp in water and wash the seeds out. Guelder rose is a cold-stratification species with double dormancy: the seeds first need a warm phase (about 2 to 3 months) and then a cold phase over winter. So sow fresh seeds straight away in a cold frame or an outdoor seedbed. Germination often only happens in the second spring after sowing. Important: garden forms such as the double guelder rose ‘Roseum’ are sterile or do not come true from seed, so only vegetative methods work here, that is cuttings, layering or division of the suckers.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
For your garden
Grow Guelder rose yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
Free, no time limit
Notes from real gardens
What other gardeners have written down about this variety, anonymous and voluntary.
No notes shared yet. Will you be the first to write one down?