Do Japanese Snowball Trees Lose Their Leaves in the Winter?
Introduced from eastern Asia into the United States in 1712, the Japanese snowball (Viburnum plicatum f. plicatum) grows into a spreading large shrub. If its lowest branches are removed, it attains a more tree-like silhouette potentially reaching 12 to 15 feet tall and equally wide. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
-
Time Frame
-
Japanese snowball is winter deciduous, but the local climate affects the precise timing of leaf drop in the fall. In the mildest climates, such as coastal California or in the South, leaves may not turn purplish and drop away until early winter. Sometimes the smallest leaves at branch tips don't drop off in winter if the weather remains unusually mild.
Geography
-
Japanese snowball viburnum grows well in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 7. In the western United States the soils and climate allow it to grow well even into USDA zones 8 and 9. The colder the winter climate, the earlier and more complete the leaf drop across autumn.
-
Significance
-
While most leaves fall off this shrub, the importance of the winter dormancy period ensures the flower buds later open in the spring. Without ample cold, the buds already present on the twigs since late summer do not develop into flowers. Called vernalization, viburnum shrubs must receive adequate exposure to winter chill for the buds to flower.
-
