I originally planted seven shrubs of Tea Viburnum in my garden because I had read that the fruit is very attractive to overwintering Bluebirds. I have never seen a Bluebird here in my garden yet and I have had the shrubs for many years. As far as I can see nothing eats the fruit as it lasts all thru the winter and is still hanging on in the spring.

Attractive orange berries on graceful slender shrubs.

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I have only seen a few of this species from central & western China in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic of the USA at arboretums, estates, and professional landscapes. It is not well-known and is sold at some large, diverse, conventional nurseries and specialty plant mail order nurseries. It is a good quality shrub that is clean and basically neat. Its leaves are 3 to 6 inches long by 1 to 2.5 inches and are pointed with some slight coarse teeth. Fall color can be good yellow to purplish-red or poor yellowish. The pointed buds are green with red, hairless, smooth, with 3 to 5 scales. The twigs are stout, smooth, and gray. The white, flattish, cyme flower clusters are about 2 inches wide in May. The orange-red to bright red fruit is a drupe about 1/2 inch long and egg-shaped maturing in September and looking good into early winter. My biggest customer in southeast PA has one in the backyard and it often bears a good crop of fruit, though it is alone. I have not really seen birds delighting to eat the fruit; I'll look out for that this coming fall-winter. This species gets its name from the leaves being able to be used for making tea.

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