Snowball Viburnum in bloom

My old-fashioned Snowball bush is in bloom. Although not quite as spectacular as it was last year due to the heavy rains we’ve had here for the past few days, it is still beautiful and is the focal point of my yard right now. I have had this shrub (tree) for many years now and always look forward to it. Click any photo to view larger. For more about this shrub and how to care for it, see my Snowball Viburnum post from last year here.

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Snowball in bloom

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Related posts:
Snowball Viburnum
White wildflowers and other plants
Flowers and plants this week
Front Flower Beds

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Snowball viburnum

My old-fashioned snowball bush is gorgeous right now. The huge flower clusters, which start out as green, have now turned almost pure white, and the entire bush is heavy and drooping with them. There must be hundreds and hundreds of blooms, and each individual cluster gets larger and whiter as they mature. I have had this shrub for many years and it is huge, more than 15 feet tall and still growing. I don’t ever do anything to it other than pruning it a bit right after it finishes blooming. I also keep the trunks clear of branches from the ground up to a little more than 5 feet, and pruning it this way keeps it like a standard or small tree with a large canopy instead of a shrub. I can easily stand underneath it.

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Snowball Viburnum blooms

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In late evening and even at night, the white flowers are phosphorescent and practically glow in the dark. The photo at left was taken at twilight (click to enlarge). Snowballs would be great for a moon garden. This shrub blooms for many weeks in the spring and when the petals start falling, they look like snow on the grass underneath it. I always look forward to seeing this large shrub bloom every year. The one drawback to this shrub that I have found is that when it is at peak bloom and the flower clusters are at their largest, heavy rains can be damaging to the flowers and can cause the branches to become so heavy that they droop almost to the ground.

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Click on any photo to view a larger version.

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This shrub is at the edge of my yard and is visible from the road — I’ve had many people stop and ask about it or want to take photos of it when it’s in full bloom.

I have successfully propagated this deciduous shrub for others by rooting semi-hardwood and hardwood cuttings from it in the early summer. I simply take several cuttings of about 12 inches long, remove most of the leaves, and place them about 5 inches deep in a rich, sandy potting mix I have in a deep old tub at the edge of the woods. The tub gets dappled sunlight, and I do keep it watered through the summer months. By the following spring and summer, usually more than half of the cuttings are well-rooted and ready to transplant. I’ve had good luck propagating many flowers, shrubs, and even trees this way.

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(Also, please see the comments and responses to this post for much more information on this shrub.)

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Related post: My Snowball in bloom – May 2009

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Flowers and plants this week, April 20

We had beautiful weather this weekend, with bright sun and temps in the 80s and a pollen count beyond the red level. I spent the day outside sneezing, weeding, coughing, cleaning up, sniffling, and taking photos.

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Creeping phlox

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My creeping phlox (Phlox subulata), also known as thrift or Mountain Phlox, is in full bloom right now. This is an evergreen perennial and it is very resilient and easy to grow. I have it planted in various spots on a steep slope and it grows well, even in rocky, poor soil. It spreads slowly and makes a good groundcover or edging. I also have large clumps of purple and white thrift growing over the top of a rock wall. Click any of the photos to view larger versions.

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Azaleas

I have several colors of azaleas in full bloom right now, with other, later-blooming varieties still to come. I have two large azaleas that are evergreen and these will bloom closer to the end of spring. Azaleas are maintenance free and easy to grow, as long as they are in acid soil.

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Miscellaneous blooms

Large old cherry tree in full bloom

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I have shrubs and flowers starting to bloom all over the yard, in addition to all the many wildflowers and native trees in bloom right now. Even with the extremely high pollen count, I love this time of year!

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Snowball bush filled with immature blossoms

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The huge snowball (Snowball Viburnum) bush is absolutely filled with buds right now. I look forward to this every year. This old shrub is many years old and is the biggest snowball bush I’ve ever seen at more than 15 feet tall and around half that wide. I always prune it a little right after it finishes blooming. When these blossoms mature they will be much larger and turn bright white. The blossoms on this shrub are always huge and I don’t see how the bush is able to hold them all up! I can already see some of the petals turning white, so it won’t be long now.

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Other blooms

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Click any photo to view a larger version.

It seems every day now there’s something new in bloom, and there’s always a reason to carry the camera around outside. Isn’t this a great time of year? What’s blooming in your yard right now?

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Front Flower Beds

A small flower bed along the fence line at the end of the front yard, with dusty miller, two shades of purple petunias, my stella d’oro lily, impatiens, and other annuals. This bed is being shaded on one end by my snowball bush, which is huge. This bed gets plenty of sunshine in the spring before the snowball bush leafs out, and is planted with lots of iris and tulips, and I always add a few annuals after the spring bulbs finish flowering. Next year, I’m going to plant this bed with coleus, more impatiens, and other shade loving annuals. I think I’ll move my stella d’oro lily to a sunnier spot. Edited to add: I have completely changed these front flower beds, connecting them to create one long, curving border along the fence line. Click here for my current Flower Beds post.

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This is the large snowball bush currently shading most of the front flower bed, when it was flowering in late spring. It is at least 15 feet tall and half that wide, and just keeps growing and growing… :-) I’ve had it for years, and love it, but it sure is shading one end of the flower bed all summer.

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The edge of the same flower bed, along the side of the front yard. I think the purple petunias and the yellow lily make a nice color combination. I also have some red geraniums and pinks along with the dusty miller in this bed, but the purple and yellow combination really stands out.

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Closeup of one of my buttery yellow Stella D’oro lilies. These are so pretty! I love this color, and wish I had more of these flowers. I’m looking forward to dividing these clumps and spreading them around throughout the yard. Click any of the photos for larger versions.

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Related posts: My Secret Garden
New rock wall flower bed
Miscellaneous Garden Photos

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