Viburnum japonicum var. japonicum ("Hakusanboku")

Japanese name: ハクサンボク （白山木）
Scientific name: Viburnum japonicum var. japonicum

[Overview]
An evergreen shrub or small tree 1.5–6 m tall.
Young branches are green, later tinged with purple.
Leaves are simple and opposite, rhombic-obovate to rhombic-ovate, 5–20 cm long and 4–15 cm wide.
The upper surface is smooth and glossy, there are 5–7 pairs of straight lateral veins, and the upper margin has coarse teeth.
The petiole is 2–3 cm long, tinged with purple, and there are no stipules.
The leaves turn red in winter.
At the branch tips, flat corymbs 6–15 cm across are produced together with 1–2 pairs of leaves.
The flowers are white, 5–8 mm across, with a distinctive smell, and the corolla is 5-lobed.
The fruit is 7–9 mm long, ripens red, is sweet and sour, and is edible.

[Uses]
The leaves are used medicinally.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or cuttings.
For seed, collect ripe fruit, wash off the pulp thoroughly, and then sow.
It grows well regardless of soil type as long as the site is sunny or partially shaded, well drained, and rich in humus.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long spell of sunny weather and the soil becomes severely dry.
Apply fertilizer in winter, and also apply a slow-release chemical fertilizer with equal amounts of the three components after flowering as a thank-you fertilizer.
No pruning is done and the natural shape is enjoyed, but to keep it compact, cut just above a bud as soon as possible after flowering.
Poor ventilation makes powdery mildew and scale insects likely to occur, so care is needed.

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