To assess the growth of ornamental shrubs in peat alternative substrates, one ornamental species, Viburnum tinus L., was cultivated in a number of different substrates in two climates: a French oceanic (Oce) and a Spanish Mediterranean (Med). In Oce, three mixtures (1/1, v/v) of Finnish peat/yard compost, yard compost/raw coir and Finnish peat/raw coir were used while the expanded perlite/composted manure (1/1), forest compost/composted bark (1/1) and forest compost/cattle manure compost (2/3) were tested in Med. A mixture (1/1) of Finnish peat/pine bark compost was used in both climates as a control. Plants were cultivated at a density of six plants/m 2 in 4l containers with drip irrigation. Plant height, dry mass, and leaf area were measured at intervals during cultivation. In Oce, substrates with yard compost or raw coir produced plants of similar size to those in the control substrate. In Med, forest compost/cattle manure compost mixture produced plants with the same height as those in the control mixture and the two other mixtures produced shorter plants. In both climates, substrates ranked the same whether height, dry mass or leaf area were considered. Using those parameters, significant effects of different substrates were revealed. Those effects are related to the substrate characteristics, mainly physical ones. As peat is used in a large range of situations, the experiment showed that substrate performance varies with its use, so alternative substrates can show better performance than those using peat.