Viburnum macrocephalum seed
LATIN NAME: VIBURNUM MACROCEPHALUM
COMMON NAME: Chinese Snowball
In the gardens of the lower Yangtze, the Chinese snowball viburnum grows as a rounded, deciduous shrub with the oval, toothed, dark-green leaves and the huge, rounded heads of small, white, sterile flowers that open in the late spring, the snowy domes ageing to a soft pink. It slowly becomes an upright, leafy clump, up to a metre tall. Choose full sun and deep, fertile ground for this plant.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The Chinese snowball shows up in the studies of the cultivated viburnums of the east, its great sterile flower heads keeping it in view in the work on the spring-flowering shrubs of the temperate garden and the breeding of the snowball forms. The research looks at the way the crowded florets build the white domes, the leafy shoots carry the heavy heads, and the seed biology of the flat, grooved seeds of the viburnum tribe.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
In the late-spring garden, the Chinese snowball carries the great white domes above the dark leaves and stops the eye at the height of the season. The sterile heads feed the early insects, the dense twiggy frame gives the nesting cover, and the shrub makes the fine specimen, the flowering hedge and the classic garden centrepiece. It is a shrub for the open, fertile, moist and well-drained place.
To grow the Chinese Snowball from seed, clean the seeds from the ripe fruits and give them a long, cold, moist spell.
Clean the seeds from the ripe fruits and give them a long, cold, moist spell, and keep the young shrubs in the open, sheltered spot. before sowing them in pots of leafy compost, keep them lightly watered, and the young shrubs find their way in the sheltered spot. The white domes open with the late spring.
LATIN NAME: Viburnum macrocephalum
COMMON NAME: Chinese Snowball
The Chinese snowball is a handsome, deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub of the gardens, and its big, round, snowball-like heads of the white flowers have made it one of the most striking of the flowering shrubs. It grows as a shrub, reaching up to four metres or more, with the upright, branching stems bearing the opposite, oval, toothed, dark-green leaves and, through the late spring, the big, round, snowball-like heads of the many small, white, sterile flowers, followed by the few small, oval, blue-black fruits. It is a species of the flowering shrub in the moschatel family, and it is native to the central and the eastern China, while it is grown as a fine ornamental shrub, and it is known as the Chinese snowball.
The Chinese snowball belongs to the moschatel family, Adoxaceae, and it is a species of the flowering shrub, native to the central and the eastern China, while it is grown as a fine ornamental shrub, and it is known as the Chinese snowball. It is prized for its big, round, snowball-like heads of the white flowers.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The Chinese snowball has a real and distinguished place in the research. It has been studied in the horticulture, since its big, round, snowball-like heads of the white flowers have made it one of the most striking of the flowering shrubs, and researchers have examined its growth, its flowering and its cultivation, while its dramatic bloom has drawn attention in the international horticultural press as a shrub of the garden. The plant has also been studied in the botany and the ecology, since it is a native of the woodlands of the central and the eastern China, and its relationships, its distribution and its role in the forest have been examined, while the ecology of the viburnums of the region has been of continuing interest, and the study of the wild shrubs has been of value to the gardeners. The species has also been studied in the breeding, since its sterile, snowball-like heads of the flowers are a fine example of the selection of the garden forms, and researchers have examined the origins and the breeding of the garden viburnums, while the making of the improved hybrids has been of continuing interest, and the selection of the larger and the more abundant heads has been of value. For a shrub of such beauty, the Chinese snowball has a rich and continuing record of study.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the Chinese snowball is a generous shrub of the garden. Its big, round, snowball-like heads of the white flowers are a fine sight for the passing bees, and its dark-green, leafy crown gives a fine cover and a shelter to the birds through the summer. It is a shrub of the generous, easy kind.
Its economic value is real. The Chinese snowball is prized for its big, round, snowball-like heads of the white flowers, and its beauty has drawn attention in the international horticultural press as a shrub of the garden, while its fine, strong stems have also made it a valued plant of the cut-flower arrangement. For a grower, the Chinese snowball is a rewarding and striking shrub, and for a gardener it brings a big, round, snowball-like head of the white flowers to the garden. The seeds are easy to start — give them a period of cold, damp storage in the fridge for a few weeks, then sow them just below the surface of a pot of moist, free-draining soil, and theyll be sprouting steadily, growing on into a striking, snowball-flowered shrub.