Viburnum wrightii var. stipellatum ("Omiyamagamazumi")

Japanese name: オオミヤマガマズミ （大深山莢蒾）
Scientific name: Viburnum wrightii var. stipellatum

[Overview]
A deciduous shrub about 3–4 m tall, growing in bright forests and at forest edges in cool-temperate mountains at 30–2,000 m in elevation.
Young branches are green, often tinged with purplish brown, and are hairless or sparsely covered with soft hairs.
The leaves are simple and opposite, broadly obovate with a wide blade, and the tip abruptly tapers to a sharp tail-like point.
The leaves are thin and dull on the upper surface, which is rough with simple or branched hairs 0.5 mm or less long; on the underside, long appressed silky hairs grow only on the veins.
The leaf margins usually have 25 or more pairs of triangular teeth.
The petiole is 1–2 cm long, and there are no stipules.
Flat corymbs are produced at the branch tips, with a pair of leaves at the base of the inflorescence.
The flowers are white, 0.5–0.7 cm across; the corolla is 5-lobed and the 5 stamens project far out.
The fruit is 0.5–0.7 cm long and ripens red.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
When growing from seed, collect ripe fruits, wash off the pulp thoroughly, and then sow.
It grows well regardless of soil type in a sunny to partially shaded, well-drained place 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 after flowering as a thank-you fertilizer, using a slow-release chemical fertilizer with equal amounts of its three components.
Do not prune and enjoy the natural shape; if you want to keep it compact, cut just above a bud as soon as possible after flowering.
Poor air circulation makes powdery mildew and scale insects likely to occur, so take care.

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