Viburnum Blue Muffin

* Common name: Viburnum Blue Muffin(R)

* Botanical name: Viburnum dentatum

* What it is: An improved version of native arrowwood viburnum that gets white flower clusters in May, then clusters of bird-attracting, pea-sized blue fruits from late summer into fall.

* Size: 5 to 6 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide.

* Where to use: Mass to make a summer-time border screen. Also compact and attractive enough to use as a foundation shrub and a good choice in a bird garden. Full sun to part shade.

* Care: Keep damp the first year, then water usually only needed in bad drought. No pruning needed unless plant outgrows its space, then trim lightly right after plants flower in May. A scattering of balanced, organic, granular fertilizer once in spring is helpful but not critical. ‘Blue Muffin’ fruits heaviest when at least one other arrowwood viburnum is nearby.

* Great partner: Lamium ‘White Nancy,’ sweet woodruff and brunnera make good underplantings in shadier spots. Sedum ‘Neon’ or ‘Brilliant’ are good sunnier perennial partners.