Viburnum Densa Plant – Viburnum obovatum ‘Densa’ (Walter’s Viburnum, Live Starter Shrub)

The Viburnum Densa (Viburnum obovatum ‘Densa’), a compact form of the native Walter’s Viburnum, is one of the best low-maintenance shrubs for a dense, fine-textured hedge. Each spring it covers itself in clusters of small white flowers — a display so generous it’s nicknamed “Florida snow” — followed by berries that deepen from red to glossy black. In fall, the foliage takes on a stunning reddish-purple tint. Growing about 4–5 feet tall and wide with a naturally dense, rounded habit, Viburnum Densa is ideal as a clipped hedge, screen, or border.

Why Grow Viburnum Densa?

• Naturally dense growth – fine-textured, twiggy foliage makes an outstanding compact hedge or screen and a Florida-friendly alternative to boxwood.
• Showy spring flowers – masses of small white blooms cover the plant in early spring, attracting bees and butterflies.
• Wildlife value – red-to-black berries feed birds, and the dense branches provide cover and nesting; it’s even a larval host for the spring azure butterfly.
• Native & tough – a southeastern U.S. native that tolerates wet and dry soils, drought, heat, and salt, and is wind- and deer-resistant.
• Year-round interest – evergreen to semi-evergreen foliage, spring flowers, summer-to-fall berries, and reddish fall color.

Building a living privacy screen? Browse more options in our Shrubs & Bushes and Flowering Plants collections.

Plant Specifications at a Glance

• Botanical name: Viburnum obovatum ‘Densa’ (a compact cultivar of Walter’s Viburnum)
• Plant type: Compact, native, evergreen to semi-evergreen shrub
• Plant family: Viburnaceae (the viburnum family)
• Mature size: typically 4–5 feet tall and 4–5 feet wide
• Bloom season: Early spring, with clusters of small white flowers
• Berries & fall color: Berries ripen from red to black; foliage takes on a reddish-purple tint in fall
• Wildlife: Attracts bees and butterflies; berries feed birds
• Cold Hardiness Zones: 7–10

Viburnum Densa Care & Growing Guide

Viburnum Densa is easy-going and adaptable. Follow these simple guidelines:

• Sunlight: Thrives in full sun and tolerates partial shade. More sun produces the densest growth and the most flowers.
• Water: Water regularly to establish a strong root system, with more frequent watering in extreme heat. Once mature, it needs only occasional watering and tolerates both dry spells and periodically wet soil.
• Soil: Adaptable to most soils; prefers well-drained soil but handles a wide range, from sandy to moist.
• Cold Hardiness Zone: 7–10 (evergreen in mild winters; may briefly lose some leaves in the colder end of its range).
• Pruning: Shear annually to maintain your desired shape and density. It tolerates hard pruning, making it excellent for formal hedges, and any suckers can be trimmed to keep a clean form.

Ways to Use Viburnum Densa in the Landscape

• Dense, fine-textured hedges and privacy screens
• Foundation plantings and shrub borders
• Mass plantings and native or wildlife gardens
• Pond and stream margins or rain gardens
• Specimen shrub, or limbed up into a small tree

It layers well with other evergreen shrubs for a fuller screen. Gardeners often combine it with the compact Viburnum Spring Bouquet, the fast-growing Wax Myrtle, or Sinense Ligustrum for a varied living fence.

What You’ll Receive

These are live Viburnum Densa starter plants grown and shipped by Carlos Plant Farm. Plants are less than 12 inches tall when we ship them. The photos in this listing depict mature plants of the correct species so you can see how they will look as they grow. Choose your preferred plant bundle size using the options above. We are not in any way responsible for plants once USPS takes possession of them.

Due to different state laws, we reserve the right to charge extra fees in order to comply with those laws if necessary.

Terms of the Sale

Please read the following terms of the sale completely. The customer agrees to all of the following when purchasing from Carlo’s Plant Farm:

• All sales are final. All orders are insured against damage or loss.
• The customer assumes all risk of loss or damage once USPS takes possession. If the order is damaged in any way during shipping, the customer agrees to file an insurance claim. Carlo’s Plant Farm agrees to assist the customer in filling out the form.
• Once your order is shipped, we offer no cancellation refund at all.
• We reserve the right to delay shipping due to extreme heat or cold.
• If you are unhappy with your order for any reason, you agree to contact us as soon as possible. The customer agrees not to publish a negative review before contacting us. If you post a negative review before contacting us, we will ask you to take down the review and remind you of this terms of sale agreement.

In purchasing from Carlo’s Plant Farm, the customer acknowledges, understands, and agrees with all the above terms of the sale.