Borders and banks of streams and rivers; fens, sedge meadows, tamarack swamps; shrubby swamps, swamps, thickets, fencerows.

Not always quickly distinguishable from Viburnum prunifolium. The mature stamens of V. lentago are said to protrude at least half their length from the corolla, while in V. prunifolium the stamens usually protrude about a fourth of their length. This is not an easy character to use, considering the shrinking of over-mature filaments and incomplete elongation of immature ones. But specimens which indeed have more than half of the stamen length extending beyond the corolla can probably be referred to V. lentago.

This is a large shrub, and old plants may reach the size of a small tree, larger than our other native Viburnum species.