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Viburnum Opulus - crispy brown flowers

sara.beaumontsara.beaumont Posts: 2
in Problem solving
Hello, newbie here! I have a problem with a Viburnum Opulus and haven’t found a solution anywhere online.
It was planted in April 2019. The garden is north facing but unobstructed so gets a fair bit of sun throughout the day.
The first year it got smothered in blackfly before or around the time of flowering which I thought might have caused this issue but this year it didn’t get blackfly until later (and not as much anyway). 
The flowers bloom beautifully for a week or so and then crisp up, turning brown. Last year it looked so sad, I cut the flowers off. This year I wanted to try to get berries so left them but the flowers are drooping and falling off anyway! 
Online, I can only find info about the leaves turning brown and crispy, nothing about the flowers.
Has anyone had experience of this, do you know how I can fix it? Thank you in advance :)

Posts

  • Tanty2Tanty2 Posts: 231
    My Viburnum Opulus does something similar sometimes.  Mine gets happier with regular seaweed feeding (Maxicrop).  From your pic it looks like other things are growing around the base of it - maybe giving it some room and mulching and feeding will give it some encouragement :)
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    Even though you say you have planted them in a north facing border, as you say, it is open leaving it to excessive sun. These shrubs do better with a bit more shade. However, the weather is also a factor. Early warmth and then sudden cold nights will have not helped in creating a lot of growth that not only wilts at the slightest change or dip in temperatures, but also make it susceptible to aphid attack.

    Not sure with your soil type, but I think it's best to top dress with something like bark chip mulch instead of pebbles. It's easier to know how moist the soil is underneath. They prefer a cool moisture retentive soil too.

    It's still a young shrub, so you need to keep on top of the watering throughout the year. The roots are probably not fully formed enough to sustain the top growth made. As the shrub matures, it's most likely going to take care of itself better, and the flowers will probably last better.
  • sara.beaumontsara.beaumont Posts: 2
    Thank you both for your advice! I’m going to feed it, give it some more room and mulch 👍🏻 Fingers crossed for next year’s blooms!
  • Rob LockwoodRob Lockwood Posts: 380
    Count yourself lucky Sara - mine's been almost completely de-leaved by V beetle - keep a close eye out for this - I'm spraying next year!
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