This adaptable, shade-tolerant shrub is an all-season favorite due to its abundant flowers, fall color, and edible, deep-blue fruits that persist through winter. It’s an important food source for wildlife and is especially useful as an attractive hedge or windbreak. It typically grows 15 to 20 feet tall and wide, and its suckering roots often form colonies that provide privacy for homeowners and shelter for wildlife. In late spring, round-topped clusters of white flowers with long, fluffy stamens give way to bunches of fleshy fruits that are eaten in winter by many birds and mammals (the shrub is also known as sweet viburnum). In the fall, the plant’s lustrous, dark green leaves change to hues of orange and purplish red. Nannyberry viburnum is commonly found in moister areas with loamy soils, but it will adapt to a wide variety of sites. It usually grows larger in full sun or dappled shade, while part or full shade leads to less growth, fewer flowers, and occasional mildew. The upright-growing shrub has leggy, arching branches (lentago means “flexible”) that form an irregular to rounded crown. While it makes an excellent hedge or addition to borders, it may also be pruned into a small, short-trunked tree; however, to retain the tree form, the gardener will need to continue to trim back the suckering roots. Because it’s mildly resistant to deer browse, nannyberry is a good choice for landscapes populated by deer.