The Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum Dentatum ‘Christom’) Care Guide


The Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum, otherwise known as the Viburnum Dentatum ‘Christom’ or Arrowwood ‘Dawn’, ‘Dawn’ Viburnum, Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Pink Dawn’, Viburnum bodnantense ‘Pink Dawn’, Pink Dawn Bodnant Viburnum, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.

Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.

Fortunately, taking care of your Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum Care Guide. Now let’s get started.

The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum are the following:

  • Water: The Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum grows well with weekly watering is perfect and more frequent in extremely hot conditions.
  • Light: Keep your Viburnum Dentatum ‘Christom’ in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis. 
  • Soil: Make sure to keep the Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.

And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.

Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum care

Scientific / Botanical Aspects

In botanical terms, the Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum belongs to the Viburnaceae family, and the genus Viburnum, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Viburnum Dentatum ‘Christom’ (vy-BER-num den-TAY-tum).

As with other Viburnum’s, the Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum is a deciduous plant, which means it will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.

Growing Region

The Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum is a plant native to the Asia.

You might be wondering why your Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.

With this in mind, the Viburnum Dentatum ‘Christom’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 7 – 8 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a and the ideal climate zone is between 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.

Growth and Size

Growth

In terms of size and growth, the Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.

Size

But, how big does the Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…

The Viburnum Dentatum ‘Christom’ can grow up to 8′ – 10′ (240cm – 3m) in 8′ – 10′ (240cm – 3m) and 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) in 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm). 

These dimensions make the Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum a relatively large shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.

This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 72″ (180cm) free so the Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum can spread to its best extent.

Water

In terms of watering, the Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum is a fairly simple plant to take care of.

This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.

Specifically, most experts agree that the Viburnum Dentatum ‘Christom’ grows well with weekly watering is perfect and more frequent in extremely hot conditions.

Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water. 

Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum flowers

Watering

As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive. 

However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.

Soil Mix

The Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum’s ideal soil potting mix is made out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.

This is why most experts agree that the Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum requires soil with clay, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.

In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.

Light and Exposure

In terms of light & exposure, the Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions. 

Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.

Specifically, we recommend that you place your Viburnum Dentatum ‘Christom’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).

Season

Being a deciduous plant, the Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.

But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early), the fall, and during the winter.

Flowers

You can expect your Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum to flower around the winter and in the spring months from January to March (winter) and from April to June (spring).

In particular, this shrub is well known for its showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.

The Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum produces some beautiful white, or pink and white flowers around this time of year.

Foliage

The leaves from the Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum have a beautiful green color during most of the year.

In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.

You can expect the leaves from your Viburnum Dentatum ‘Christom’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.

Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum plants

Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance

The Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum is well known for being able to attract butterflies and birds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.

Additionally, it has a special tolerance for drought conditions, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Viburnum Dentatum ‘Christom’ will be fine.

Garden

How should you then organize your garden to include your new Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.

Most Viburnum Dentatum ‘Christom’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most cottage gardens of all types. 

Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, and in traditional garden styles. 

In particular, the Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, and in hedges and screens, others use it for landscaping in a mass planting, border, hedge, or a privacy screen.

Conclusion

Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Blue Muffin® Arrowwood Viburnum, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.

Martin Duran

Hey y'all! My name is Martin Duran and I am from Cali, Colombia. Since 2018 I have been learning about plants and how to take care of them. Here's is my journey... “The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” ― John Muir

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