How to Plant a Snowball Bush
One of gardening's pleasures can be the discovery of new, dramatic additions to your collection of plantings, and a snowball bush may just fit that bill. Snowball bushes are large, colorful and can be an addition that will make any home gardener proud. Even better, snowball bushes require no special care and are simple to plant and grow. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Choose your plant carefully. Snowball bushes are often confused with hydrangeas, but despite their similar appearance they are actually two different species of plant. Hydrangeas are classified as Hydrangea arborescens and have a low, rounded growing habit, while snowball bushes (Viburnum), will grow as high as eight to 15 feet.
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Buy a snowball bush from a quality local or mail-order nursery. Snowball bushes are crosses, or hybrids, and as such are sterile and cannot be started from seed, but there are numerous retailers from which they can be purchased. PlantNative.org is a comprehensive resource for such plant nurseries nationwide (see link in Resources).
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Pick a spot in full sun to partial shade with moist, well-drained soil and plenty of room as snowball bushes will spread 10 to 12 feet wide. When choosing a spot in your yard or garden, also consider that snowball bushes bloom in the late spring to early summer and are deciduous, so they will lose their leaves at the end of the season.
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Dig a hole roughly twice as wide and just a little deeper than the root ball of your bush. Break up the soil at the bottom of the hole to ensure that the plant's roots have a loose medium in which to grow. Add loose soil mixed with either fine mulch or peat moss to the bottom of the hole to assist drainage and further improve the quality of soil.
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Place the snowball bush in the hole and back fill the space gently with the soil/mulch mixture ensuring that there are no air pockets as you move toward the top. Bear in mind when setting the bush that it is important that the new plant sits high enough in the hole that its stem does not remain submerged after being watered.
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Water the snowball bush with a slow trickle from either a hose or watering can until the new soil stops absorbing water. Note any spots that settle and add more soil. The new snowball bush now just needs to be kept moist with periodic watering.
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References
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Comments
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thank you for the info, couldn't remember when my snowball bush was supposed to bloom. Still has time.
