bush identify - Ask Extension
Hello, I'm trying to find a native bush for my front yard in dappled light. I have deer, rabbits, and squirrels.
The attached pictures show a bush ...
Knowledgebase
bush identify #916838
Asked September 08, 2025, 12:16 PM EDT
Hello, I'm trying to find a native bush for my front yard in dappled light. I have deer, rabbits, and squirrels.
The attached pictures show a bush that came with the house when I bought it twenty years ago. It grows in canes like a lilac bush and has pungent white flowers in the spring. The flowers look like Queen Anne's Lace before opening more fully to pure white. It has been in total shade until maybe five years ago and now has dappled shade.
Can you identify it? Is it native to DC/Maryland area? Thank you.
Montgomery County Maryland
Expert Response
The shrub pictured looks like a type of Viburnum, of which over a dozen species are grown in Maryland (some native, some not). This plant looks like one of the non-native species (it's hard to tell some of them apart), though not all of those non-natives are invasive.
Among our native Viburnum species, those most commonly available at nurseries (though even then, some may be easier to find than others) are:
If your planting site is fairly shady, the species from the list above that does the best in those conditions is Mapleleaf Viburnum, which also tends to mature smaller than the other species. Unfortunately, all of our native Viburnums can be eaten by deer (deer generally avoid the non-native Viburnums, which may be why the previous gardener planted it).
Miri
Among our native Viburnum species, those most commonly available at nurseries (though even then, some may be easier to find than others) are:
- Mapleleaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)
- Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum)
- Witherod Viburnum (Viburnum nudum)
- Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium)
If your planting site is fairly shady, the species from the list above that does the best in those conditions is Mapleleaf Viburnum, which also tends to mature smaller than the other species. Unfortunately, all of our native Viburnums can be eaten by deer (deer generally avoid the non-native Viburnums, which may be why the previous gardener planted it).
Miri
Hello,
Is your website down?
Mary
Dear 93,
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YOUR QUESTION #0186754:
bush identify
Hello, I'm trying to find a native bush for my front yard in dappled light. I have deer, rabbits, and squirrels. The attached pictures show a bush that came with the house when I bought it twenty years ago. It grows in canes like a lilac bush and has pungent white flowers in the spring. The flowers look like Queen Anne's Lace before opening more fully to pure white. It has been in total shade until maybe five years ago and now has dappled shade. Can you identify it? Is it native to DC/Maryland area? Thank you.Ask Extension offers one-to-one expert answers from Cooperative Extension/University staff and volunteers within participating Land-Grant institutions across the United States.
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If you didn't receive the reply we sent on Sept. 8 to your earlier question (could it have gone into a spam folder?), here is what we sent:
The shrub pictured looks like a type of Viburnum, of which over a dozen species are grown in Maryland (some native, some not). This plant looks like one of the non-native species (it's hard to tell some of them apart), though not all of those non-natives are invasive.
Among our native Viburnum species, those most commonly available at nurseries (though even then, some may be easier to find than others) are:
If your planting site is fairly shady, the species from the list above that does the best in those conditions is Mapleleaf Viburnum, which also tends to mature smaller than the other species. Unfortunately, all of our native Viburnums can be eaten by deer (deer generally avoid the non-native Viburnums, which may be why the previous gardener planted it).
Miri
If you didn't receive the reply we sent on Sept. 8 to your earlier question (could it have gone into a spam folder?), here is what we sent:
The shrub pictured looks like a type of Viburnum, of which over a dozen species are grown in Maryland (some native, some not). This plant looks like one of the non-native species (it's hard to tell some of them apart), though not all of those non-natives are invasive.
Among our native Viburnum species, those most commonly available at nurseries (though even then, some may be easier to find than others) are:
- Mapleleaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)
- Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum)
- Witherod Viburnum (Viburnum nudum)
- Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium)
If your planting site is fairly shady, the species from the list above that does the best in those conditions is Mapleleaf Viburnum, which also tends to mature smaller than the other species. Unfortunately, all of our native Viburnums can be eaten by deer (deer generally avoid the non-native Viburnums, which may be why the previous gardener planted it).
Miri
