Popcorn Viburnum

No, you can’t munch on the Popcorn Viburnum while watching a movie, but you will enjoy another version of Snow White when you see its sparkling white blooms, like snowballs all along the branches. This shrub is an improved, more compact version of the classic snowball bush, once a garden standard around every home. Discover it again with this great bush, and see why it was so popular – those white flower-heads greet the spring with joy, beauty and charm. Growing to between 5 and 8 feet, depending on pruning, it forms a rounded bush that is perfect for all your garden beds. Grow it around your home, in beds with other shrubs, or along the edge of wooded areas – it looks great everywhere, and grows well across a wide spread of light levels, from sun to shade. The handsome oval leaves are 4 inches long, deep green, and have pronounced veins. In fall they turn fabulous shades of deep red. The round balls of white flowers are 3 inches across, and are produced in profusion all over the bush, falling cleanly without making berries. An easy-care bush that is a garden classic no American yard should be without.

• More compact version of the classic snowball bush
• Round balls of white flowers in the middle of spring
• Showy fall leaf colors of burgundy red to purple
• An attractive addition to any and all gardens
• Easily grown and not affected by the viburnum beetle

The Popcorn Viburnum will grow in full sun or in all levels of partial shade. As the shade deepens, flowering may be reduced. Grow it in any well-drained soil, including clay and poor soil. The best growth is seen in moist soil, but once established it has good drought tolerance and needs little care. Deer resistant and generally free of pests and diseases, it isn’t attacked by the viburnum beetle that has caused serious problems in the northeast. Prune after flowering as needed, but don’t trim new branches – these will flower the following spring. If space isn’t an issue pruning isn’t needed.