Viburnum macrocephalum Seeds | Chinese Snowball
LATIN NAME: Viburnum macrocephalum
COMMON NAME: Chinese Snowball
Plant Profile
Chinese Snowball (Viburnum macrocephalum) is a rounded, deciduous shrub. It slowly becomes an upright, leafy clump, up to a metre tall. Choose full sun and deep, fertile ground for this plant. For the gardener, the sum of these traits is a plant that is easy to live with.
Science & Biotechnology
Within the Viburnum group, Viburnum macrocephalum is of continuing interest to researchers working on plant diversity, seed biology and the selection of improved garden forms. The Chinese snowball has a real and distinguished place in the research. From a research perspective, species of this kind are valuable material for work on propagation and on the selection of uniform lines.
Uses & Benefits
Chinese Snowball brings genuine presence to the garden and earns its keep across the growing season. Ecologically, the Chinese snowball is a generous shrub of the garden. Its big, round, snowball-like heads of white flowers are a fine sight for passing bees, and its dark-green, leafy crown gives a fine cover and a shelter to birds through the summer. It is a shrub of generous, easy kind. Thereafter it wants only the ordinary attentions any garden plant receives.
Viburnums are the workhorse flowering shrubs, and cramp bark and black haw, two American species, are classical Western herbs for menstrual cramps; the ornamental kinds feed birds with autumn berries.
Growing from Seed
Starting Chinese Snowball from seed is simple and satisfying. Sow evenly over the surface and cover lightly into a loose, well-drained seed compost, water in gently, and keep the sowing in full sun with steady moisture. Prick the seedlings out once they are large enough to handle, grow them on in bright light, and plant out when conditions allow.
Our Take
Chinese Snowball is the kind of plant that rewards a permanent spot. Moisture matters most while plants are young; established plants cope with far more.
Related Reading
Gardeners who grow Chinese Snowball often pair it with these related subjects: