Based on the name I was expecting this variety to have superior fall color, but they have always been very muted and not any different than my Arrowwood Viburnum 'Blue Muffin'. 'Autumn Jazz' has a more sprawling wild shape than 'Blue Muffin' which is quite rounded and more compact.

I got these two varieties because I had read that they are not self-fertile and that you need two different varieties that will bloom at the same time. In that respect they work well together and both set fruit.

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'Autumn Jazz,' also called 'Ralph Senior,' is another of several cultivars of the Smooth Arrowwood developed under the management of Chicagoland Grows, a nursery & arboretum association of the Chicago, Illinois area that has been developing new cultivars of woody plants. The straight species of the Smooth Arrowwood has a great range of fall color from good to poor, depending on the individual plant. This is another selection of one that displays good fall color and tends to be less leggy in habit, and has darker glossy leaves. It is a common cultivar that is often sold with other similar cultivars as 'Chicago Lustre' and 'Northern Burgundy' for the purpose of good fruit set, as the species is not self-fertile.

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