Viburnum opulus Tajożnyje Rubiny - Guelder rose

Viburnum opulus 'Tajożnyje Rubiny' is a variety of Guelder Rose cultivated for its fruits. It is a vigorous deciduous bush that thrives in damp undergrowth and is perfectly cold-resistant. It has beautiful palmate leaves and in spring it produces flat clusters of white flowers followed by clusters of small red fruits. A countryside bush, providing food and colour, that adapts to any fertile garden soil that does not dry out in summer.

Viburnum opulus 'Tajożnyje Rubiny' belongs to the Viburnaceae family. This variety is native to Siberia, specifically from the city of Barnaul where it was selected in 1973 at the Scientific and Research Institute of Horticulture of Siberia named after M.A. Lisavienko. This cultivar reaches an average height of 2.25 m, with a slightly smaller spread. The bush has an irregular crown and light grey stems. Its leaves, measuring up to 12 cm long, are broadly ovate, with five toothed lobes and pointed tips. They are a shiny dark green and turn yellow in autumn before falling off.

The flowers of Viburnum opulus 'Tajożnyje Rubiny' are arranged in flat umbels of approximately 10 cm in diameter. The outer flowers of the umbels measure up to 1.5 cm in diameter and have large white petals, while the inner flowers are small, cream-coloured, with visible stamens and pistils. Flowering begins in the second half of May, sometimes earlier depending on the climate. The round fruits, which turn reddish-purple when ripe, measure approximately 8 mm in diameter and are grouped in large pendulous clusters. Edible after freezing or cooking, these fruits are tasty with a slight bitter aftertaste. They have a high vitamin C content, ranging from 45 to 60 mg per 100 g of frozen fruit.

The wild Guelder Rose, also known as European Cranberrybush, Snowball Tree, or Guelder Tree depending on the region, is a deciduous shrub native to Europe and North Africa. It now belongs to the Adoxaceae family. This very bushy shrub, with fairly rapid growth, reaches about 3.50 m in height with a spread of 3 m, depending on the growing conditions. Its low branches easily layer on contact with the ground, accentuating its thicket-like appearance.

Viburnum opulus 'Tajożnyje Rubiny' thrives in sunny or semi-shaded positions, in any moist soil, even limestone and clay. It can be used as an informal hedge or in a mass planting. In a hedge, it can be combined with numerous ornamental fruit shrubs or edible shrubs, such as aronias, callicarpas, snowberries, Oleaster, Amelanchier alnifolia 'Martin', wild roses, etc. To add flowers to your hedge, plant some Mock Orange (Philadelphus coronarius) and weigelas, for example.