Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki (sweet viburnum, "Sangoju")

Japanese name: サンゴジュ （珊瑚樹）
Scientific name: Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki

[Overview]
An evergreen tree up to 20 m tall, growing in valleys.
Leaves are simple, opposite or in whorls of three, elliptical, 7–20 cm long and 4–8 cm wide, with a glossy upper surface.
The leaf margin is almost entire or has slightly wavy teeth.
The petiole is 1–4.5 cm long.
At the branch tips, panicles 5–16 cm long and 8–16 cm wide are produced, and the base of the inflorescence has 2 pairs of leaves.
The flowers are white, 6–8 mm across, and the corolla is 5-lobed.
The fruit is a drupe 7–9 mm long that turns red and is highly ornamental, but finally ripens black.

[Uses]
The wood contains so much water that it foams when burned, and the tree is used as a fire-resistant tree and a windbreak tree.

[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, 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.
Poor sunlight or ventilation leads to sooty mold, scale insects, and Sangoju leaf beetles.

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