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Bloom baby bloom: Captivating woody among ASCFG’s 2024 Cut Flowers of the Year

The American Society of Cut Flower Growers (ASCFG) has announced their winners for the 2024 Cut Flowers of the Year, among them, is a berry deserving recipient.

In a recent press release, Spring Meadow Nursery highlights the winner of the 2024 Woody Cut of the Year, the striking, Proven Winners ColorChoice, Brandywine Viburnum Nudum.

The criteria for the recently announced awards, chosen by the group’s 1,600 members, are based on the varieties’ ease of culture, productivity, marketability.

Brandywine is an ornamental Witherod Viburnam. In late August, its green berries turn ivory, then vivid pink, and then blue, in contrast to its clusters of foamy white flowers in late spring.

The berry clusters often display all three colours simultaneously and as they change colours, so does the surrounding foliage, taking on a vivid red that heightens the vibrancy of the berries.

The North American native species was selected for its more refined, compact habit (5-6′ tall and wide, versus 10’+ in the wild) and plenteous flowers and berries.

“I love the full seasonality of the Brandywine viburnum. I love the pinkish spring flowers, the leaf coloring, and the two-tone berries,” one member-grower summarized in the release.

While it does not require a different variety to pollinate it, it serves to pollinate the variety ‘Winterthur,’ where both plants will grow an abundance of fruit.

Brandywine viburnum shares the honor with Fresh Cut Flower of the Year, Snapdragon ‘Potomac Appleblossom,’ Bulb Cut Flower of the Year, Daffodil ‘Cheerfulness,’ and Cut Foliage of the Year, Thornless raspberry ‘Joan J.’

Brandywine viburnum joins the list of previous Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs winners to earn this honor, which includes, last year’s Woody Cut of the Year, Pinky Winky panicle hydrangea, along with previous years’ winners Quick Fire and ‘Limelight’ panicle hydrangeas and Coppertina ninebark.

More information on this year’s winners can be found here.

(Source: Spring Meadow Nursery)