‘Cree’ was grown from open-pollinated seed collected from V. rhytidophyllum from a plant located in China. It is similar to its parent but more compact and was released for sale in 1994. 'Cree' is an evergreen to semievergreen, fairly upright, multistemmed, dense shrub that reaches a height of 8 feet tall and 6-8 feet wide with a slow growth rate. The showy flat-topped cymes appear in May and are followed by red fruit that matures to nearly black and may persist into winter. Plant in average moist acidic well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade. Use as a foundation plant, in the shrub border or as a hedge. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: The Clemson Cooperative Extension Home and Garden Information Center has a factsheet on common pests and diseases. More information on Viburnum rhytidophyllum .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 6 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in. | Width: 6 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Dense; Erect; Multi-stemmed; Rounded
Texture
Coarse
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Glossy; Leathery
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Leaves are up to 4.5 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. They are lanceolate in shape with acute tips, obtuse base, prominent veins and entire margins. The upper surface is dark green, smooth and corrigated. The undersurface tomentose (densely matted hairs).
Flower color
Cream/Tan; White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Cyme
Flower shape
Cup
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
3-4 inch clusters of white to cream-colored flowers bloom in May. Individual flowers have 5 petals and long stamens.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Black; Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Drupe
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Red drupes mature to nearly black and may persist into winter
Bark color
Dark Gray
Bark detail
Smooth gray bark
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
China
Wildlife value
Flowers attract pollinators and birds will eat the fruits.