Viburnum odoratissimum - Sweet Viburnum

Discover the Viburnum odoratissimum commonly known as Sweet Viburnum which is a fast-growing dense evergreen shrub.

This exotic beauty, native to Asia and widely cultivated as a premium garden ornamental, delivers year-round evergreen foliage and reliable low-maintenance performance perfect for hedging, screening, and specimen plantings.

Spacing: Plant these every 80cm apart for a faster forming hedge or further apart for a slower forming hedge.

Growth Size: Approx 4-6m h x 4m

Positioning: Full sun to part shade

Temperament: Light frost tolerant once established, drought tolerant

Perfect for: Hedging & Screening

Growth Rate: Fast

Key Features:

The larger leaf size is larger than most other hedging plants and provides visual presence and creates a premium ornamental quality.

The naturally dense, spreading evergreen growth habit creates excellent screening and hedging capabilities.

The dense foliage provides year-round privacy and visual barriers without seasonal gaps. 

The Sweet Viburnum's most distinctive characteristic is its intensely fragrant white flowers that appear in spring and summer.

The clusters of fragrant white flowers completely cover the plant during the flowering season, releasing a powerful, sweet floral fragrance that fills your garden with natural perfume as well as attracting bees and butterflys.

Beyond the spectacular fragrant flowers, the Sweet Viburnum produces showy ornamental berries. The flowers are followed by red berries that age to black, creating a dual-season ornamental display.

The red berries provide striking visual colour before ripening to black, extending the season of ornamental interest from flowering through fruit maturation.

Fast-Growing Performance:
The Sweet Viburnum is a notably fast-growing variety that establishes screens and hedges quite quickly.

This fast-growing dense evergreen reaches its mature size within reasonable timeframes, allowing you to achieve desired screening effects more quickly than slower-growing alternatives. 

Low-Maintenance Excellence:

Once established, the Sweet Viburnum is exceptionally low-maintenance as it's perfectly fine to leave it in its natural form if you have the room.

The naturally dense growth habit develops beautifully without extensive pruning.

Simply enjoy this beautiful tree's fragrant flowers, ornamental berries, and consistent performance with minimal care requirements.

Size & Growth:
Typically matures to 4-6 metres in height with a dense, spreading form.

Growth is steady and manageable, developing naturally into an attractive form.

Space plants approximately 80cm apart for faster hedge formation, or further apart for slower, more staggered development.

Growing Requirements:

Prefers full sun to part shade positioning for optimal flowering.

The species prefers warm, frost-free climates. 

Light frost tolerant in most Australian climates.

Once established, remarkably low-maintenance and drought-tolerant. Requires minimal intervention once established - simply enjoy its fragrant flowers and ornamental berries year-round.

Perfect Uses:
> Hedging

> Screening

> Privacy barriers

> Residential use 

> Larger properties left to grow in its natural form

> Tropical-style gardens

> Formal or informal gardens

Why Choose Sweet Viburnum?
> Fast grower

> Dense growth habit

> Fragrant flowers

> Low-maintenance characteristic

> No major problems with pests

> Bird & bee attracting

Height approximates in Pots for this variety:

(These are a shorter bushier shrub in their pot and will gain height once planted)

200mm - 20-30cm tall

300mm - 50cm tall

400mm - 80cm tall