These evergreen shrubs - odoratissimum and suspensum - can get very big (huge, in fact) but you can keep them trimmed to a reasonable size. (Cranberry bush) Xty G (z4) 5 years ago. Reaching 4 to 6 feet tall, it puts out clusters of sweet-smelling flowers. There are several different types of viburnums. It can be susceptible to mildew however. Barks works like your skin: It keeps good things in and bad things out. The flowers, which start pink and fade to white, can be the size of softballs. Viburnum juddii opens its flowers in mid-spring, just in time to keep step with daffodils and tulips. The bush is named for its fragrance, which contains a combination of sweetness and sharpness. The leaves give off a pungent, mulch-like odor when crushed. Wilfried Wirth/Getty Images Korean spice viburnum (Viburnum carlesii) is an example of a shrub that boasts early-spring flowers (April) as well as fall color.The buds are pink but then open to become clusters of white flowers. As a bonus, it is a great shrub for fall color. Deer red buds burst open to reveal snow white flowers rich with fragrance. Sicilian Sunshine Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis) Grow your own bay leaves! In the spring, this shrub, which reaches six or more feet tall, will literally fill the entire garden with its spicy sweet fragrance. Do viburnum trilobum smell bad? Notable viburnum types that are popular for their intoxicating fragrance include the Asian varieties, Cayuga and Burkwood. Hi Val, it's probably a Viburnum as 'Mowtastic' says and the smell is from the plant being attacked by Viburnam beetle I know because my neighbour has one and every year when it is under attack it smells … Odoratissimum can be kept 4 to 6 feet, suspensum 3 to 5 feet tall. This popular herb is also a gorgeous landscape plant. They’re eye-catching on their own and really take center stage in autumn. Korean Spice viburnum (Viburnum carlesii) is such a fragrant shrub that one of its other common names is "fragrant spicebush." Many plant nerds, myself included, find the smells, well, interesting. Viburnum is relatively easy to grow since it does well in alkaline or acidic soils and flourishes in a sunny location. 9. This beauty opens semi-snowball type blooms, shaped like half spheres. Hardy to USDA zone 4. This is one viburnum you want to smell before you plant it close to your entries or outdoor living areas. I was thinking of planting one or two of these shrubs, either the Wentworth or Philips variety but have read here and there that the berries are pretty stinky in the winter and possibly the flowers smell bad in the spring. The leaves on arrowwood viburnum are densely spaced and have a strong vein pattern, which makes them almost ruffled. Perhaps the mother of all fragrant viburnums is the Korean spice viburnum (V. carlesii). Spice Girl viburnum offers dozens of pink flowers; Spice Baby is a dwarf variety that’s great for small space landscapes. It’s dense enough to hide unattractive views, and frequently used for this purpose in commercial landscaping. While viburnum adds evergreen color to the landscape and is well suited to many growing conditions, the plants will emit a strong odor on rainy days -- the smell may be reminiscent of cat urine to some. Viburnum odoratissimum is a fast grower; suspensum grows at a bit more moderate pace. One of the more well-known species is the old-fashioned Snowball viburnum (V. opulus) with beautiful, white snowball-shaped blooms. Mother nature has given these plants an unusual smell for a purpose and that sort of thing always intrigues me; but if you are put off by bad odors, here are a few plants to avoid. Ginkgo Trees. In the home landscape it’s big enough to require some room. Viburnum odoratissimum is an evergreen viburnum popular in the South, Texas and Florida. 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