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For best blooming, provide snowball with at least six hours of direct, full sun each day. Too much shade means few or no blooms. If your snowball bush is planted in a shaded location, this may be why it won’t flower. Consider adjusting the surroundings to let in more sun, or move the shrub to a sunnier spot.
How long does it take for a snowball bush to bloom?
Ours will bloom for about three weeks in the late spring. Generally snowball bushes bloom from mid spring to early summer. When the lilacs are in full bloom our Vibernum opulus roseum is starting to form it’s green blooms. This occurs right around the end of May in our growing zone.
Why is my snowball viburnum not blooming?
Your mature viburnum needs full sun to bloom at its best and well-draining, acidic soil. Another common cause for non-flowering viburnums is improper pruning. Viburnum shrubs are one of the many ornamental shrubs that blooms on old wood, so waiting until after blooming to prune is recommended.
Do snowball bushes need to be pruned?
Pruning Viburnum Snowball Bushes. Prune the bush after the flowers bloom in spring. Heavy pruning should only be done at this time since you can easily destroy next year’s flowers by removing old wood. Deadheading, or cutting off the flowers, won’t harm viburnum.
What’s wrong with my snowball bush?
When you notice your snowball viburnum leaves beginning to turn brown and curl, the most likely cause is snowball aphids. These tiny bugs suck the sap from the leaves then secrete a sweet, sticky substance. When the leaves lose the sap they need to maintain their structure, they begin to curl and wilt.
Do snowballs like sun or shade?
Best planted in the fall or spring, snowball bushes appreciate well-drained soil. Choose a planting spot that affords the snowball plenty of room to grow. Snowballs like to spread their roots and some can grow as high as 15 feet. A spot receiving six to eight hours of bright sun each day is ideal.
How do you fertilize a snowball bush?
Fertilizing Snowball Bushes Feed your Snowball with a shot of a water-soluble, general-purpose fertilizer every two months from spring to fall. You can also use a well-balanced blend, like 10-10-10, and follow label instructions.
How do you take care of a snowball bush?
Snowball Bushes flourish when given six to eight hours of full sun outdoors. These bushes need moist, humus-rich, moderately alkaline soil that drains well, so you may need to amend the soil before planting.
Does viburnum flower on old or new wood?
When to Prune Viburnum Light pruning can be performed any time throughout the growing season, but late winter or early spring is the best time to complete a hard pruning if needed. Suckers growing at the base of the shrub can be removed at any time. Viburnums flower on old wood.
What is the best fertilizer for viburnum?
Blood meal is a smart choice to apply in late winter or spring, as it breaks down rapidly to sweeten the soil for flowering. Later, alfalfa meal, compost, rotted manures and fish emulsion are all safe choices for fertilizing viburnums.
Are hydrangeas and snowball bushes the same?
Although they look similar, snowball bush (Viburnum plicatum) and the snowball hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) are actually two different plants. The two are both deciduous shrubs with similar characteristics and some distinctions.
Can you propagate a snowball bush?
Snowball bush will root from both softwood and hardwood cuttings. Cuttings taken from branches during June or July are usually in the softwood stage. Take 3- to 5-inch cuttings that contain two to four leaves, or for hardwood cuttings, leaf buds.
Is my snowball bush dying?
Wilts. Caused by the soil-borne Verticillium albo-atrum and Verticillium dahliae fungi, Verticillium wilt is a serious fungal disease that often affects snowball bushes. Wilt causes the shrub’s leaves to suddenly start wilting, yellowing or curling.
How often does a snowball bush bloom?
macrocephalum)— display snowball-like flowers. They produce white, globular flowers for a week to 10 days each spring.
How do you prune a snowball hydrangea?
Cut from one to three of the oldest branches back to the ground to renew the shrub. You may cut up to one-third of the old stems from overgrown smooth-leaf hydrangeas to the ground to renew them. Renewal may affect the succeeding year’s bloom, so limit its use to overgrown plants or plants whose bloom has fallen off.
How do you prune a Chinese snowball viburnum?
Pruning Chinese Snowball Viburnum Be sure to prune after the flowers have died in the early summer. Do this every 3 to 5 years to rejuvenate the plant. Remove the oldest and fattest stems all the way to the ground, which will allow the younger stems to produce the best looking flowers.
How tall do snowball bushes get?
Snowball bush is relatively easy to grow, is low-maintenance and matures into a large dense bush up to 12 feet tall. It has good drought tolerance. Snowball flowers are green, then turn white and often fade into a rosy pink.
When should I fertilize my snowball hydrangea?
Fertilize your snowball bush plant in the spring with a slow-release fertilizer, or work compost into the earth around the plant at any time.
Where should you plant a snowball bush?
Planting. Plant in full sun to part shade. While the Common Snowball Bush does well in some shade, about 6 hours of sun is ideal for best blooming. A well-draining and slightly acidic soil is ideal, but this hardy viburnum is adaptable to most soils.
How do you take care of a viburnum bush?
Viburnum Care After planting, add a 2-inch layer of mulch to keep the soil moist and hold in moisture. During hot weather, the shrubs should be watered every 7 to 10 days. Little pruning is necessary, though some species can be trained to form tree-like plants by removing competing stems.
Can you change the color of a snowball bush?
Add lime to your soil if the pH is low, but you prefer pink flowers. Apply agricultural lime or ground dolomitic limestone in the spring and again in the fall. The amount of lime necessary depends on the pH of your current soil and the product you select.
