Viburnum 'Mohawk'

A young Viburnum 'Mohawk' in my garden.

A few years ago I planted two one-gallon Viburnum x burkwoodii 'Mohawk,' one on either side of a Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection.' I underplanted the area with daffodils. This spring, they bloomed for the first time. The plant can get to 8' tall by 10' wide but I will keep mine pruned to about 5' wide and 8' tall. I've read that V. 'Mohawk' can be evergreen in Zone 8, but mine is deciduous with brilliant red fall leaves. The blooms have a mild, spicy fragrance.

'Mohawk' was developed by Don Egolf as part of a Viburnum breeding program with the U.S. National Arboretum in the 1960's. It won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Egolf also developed a series of hybrid Lagerstroemia (Crape Myrtles) that were more cold and disease resistant than the common species and named them after East Coast native American tribes. One of his selections was Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei 'Muskogee' and I have four in my garden. Plants are more interesting when you know their history.