Genus: Viburnum

This is new and very small (so young) and was flowering when I bought it. (maybe forced in some way). I have another vibernum which I've had for 2 years and it has not yet flowered (not sure which variety). Ive got yet another one which flowers in the Spring and had it's first flowers the Spring after I bought it the previous year, so not much rhyme or reason here.

Chris, do you know how long it took for your viburnum to flower? I know they are slow growers but mine seems to be standing still with no blooms in sight after a year and a half.

I'll tell you next year. Mine is in a sunny spot.

Wow, FdM, that's gorgeous, nearly identical to a Hydrangea though even the leaves! Wonderful!!

I would love to have this flower - do you think it would like to be exposed to full sunshine for the best part of the day ?

hehe.. After loads of early mistakes I bought a lot of books.
I research most plants that I intend to buy to make sure I have the right soil and a suitable position in my garden..
It seems to have paid off so far with only a coule of failures.
I must admit though I do impulse buy on occasions

I afree with you TT. If you look on page 29 of my photos there are 2 photos which I uploaded on 2nd May. These I think are a Snowball tree.

Boy, you sure know your plants or did you just look that up online? lol Well, anyway, I love your picture...it brings to mind a bunch of white butterflies visiting their favorite flowers.....

Chrispook, My one is the Viburnum plicatum 'Mariesii' - Japanese Snowball Bush
yours is a Viburnum plicatum 'Watanabe' - otherwise known as 'Summer Snowflake'
the variation which you may have seen with big white pompoms of flowers is commonly known as a Chinese snowball bush

This doesn't look like my snowball tree either.

My snowball tree has clusters of white blooms which are more globe shaped.

I uploaded a pic of my new one on 21st Sept. The label said Vibernum plicatum. I thought it was different to the Snowball tree, their flower heads are more ball shaped.

I have a viburnum snowball tree, but the blooms don't look like your flowers above.

It is deciduous and flowers in May. Its common name is Japanese snowball bush

When is it in flower?
Is it evergreen?
Blooms look like a hydrangea.

I've just bought one of these.

I like white flowers.

Isn't that funny, I ad the same flowers, same shrub, which I turned into a hedge on the farm! That is on the other side of the world. I love them, mine flowered in the winter though.

Got that! they grow quite fast and always health looking.

Hello Abandbb.

Have you been watering your tree well?

When I bought a young tree from a nurseries a couple of years ago, the store owner told me that more young trees and bushes die from lack of watering than from anything else.

She told me even if there had been rain, always give the tree base area lots of extra water, just in case the rain didn't reach the roots.

I hope this helps.

Does this one get blue berries later on? Then it is the same what I had in my garden.

Thank you so much for this Amy. You know, I think you are right, I looked it up on google images and I am so happy I can put a nametag under it. Thanks again.

looks like a Viburnum of some sort ,is it V.tinus?

Very pretty, I like the leaves too and the flowers stand off nicely against those leaves. Do they smell too?

These lovely blossoms have a very light scent (and that's good because it is cloying sweet) and turn into umbels of blue-black berries...but mine have never had a crop because the birds and insects love them green and demolish the seed heads before they ripen... in all the years I had this shrub it has only produced berries on the odd stem...that was part of the reason I bought the shrub in the first place...oh well ...will have to plant cornus for winter interest, I suppose.

Very nice picture, lovely flowers. I like the buds and only a few open.

So very white and fuzzy :)

The blooms are practically glowing ! I bet it smell as good as it looks, too.

I've a very old and large Viburnum tinus which appears to be gradually dying. The leaves on individual branches turn brown and die. New growth is ok can it be saved?

I have the V. trilobum...it is usually lush with huge leaves and large flower panicles like these but this year they are much smaller...I think because of excavations near the roots...I love the large brachts on the perimeter. They are also covered with red fruit...but the birds don't like it because it is so bitter.

We do not know. The house is about 25 years old and the tree was here when we bought it in late 2004. That is probably not very helpful. I'm wondering if the grub problem we have in the rest of the yard is causing the problem. We have a golden retriever (very prone to cancer) and a 1 yr old daughter, so we would prefer non-chemical alternatives to pesticides. Any ideas? Thanks for your response!

How old is it? Plants do have a life span you know.

You planted when they were small and there was lots of space and airflow between them. Then they grew.

'Dead air' was your problem. The new plantings will worsen the situation. If your Viburnums were deciduous you have most likely done for them. Evergreens - they may pull through.

Looks like an old-fashion bridal bouquet.

Sigh...

This is a mature specimen and measures some 8x8 feet. Reliably flowers every spring.

It is so deliciously lacy... how large a plant are we looking at here? does it cover a wall or a trellis? I know that it sometimes takes these viburnum and year or two to really settle in before they start blooming in this profusion.

Gorgeous!! Beautiful photo~

Love this!!!!!

Nice photo, too, Barbara. Jacque's right, they LOOK luscious, must smell nice? mmm?

I will poke my nose into it this p.m. just for you, Jacque!

This is Truely Lovely does it also have perfume Barbara?:D

Love 2 see Blossom :)

this is the same as my standard.2yrs old
nannydigit.devon.

Well, I have cut off all dead bits and also unhealthy-looking bits, too, and sterilised my secateurs and pruning saw. I burnt the cut off bits as suggested. I couldn't find any damage on the branches, or cankers or anything that looked any different from the other branches, so it's still a mystery. I crawled right underneath it to look! Henry though it was a great game...I have pulled the front healthy branches as far back as I dare, to hide the ugly gap (a bit) and I'll be watching out for any more problems. Thanks everybody, and keep your fingers crossed!

One other point, after you have used any pruning tools where you are possibly cutting out diseased material, dip your blade into bleach to sterilise before going on to another shrub. (A 10 percent solution is strong enough.)

Sounds scary! I shall look carefully as I wield my trusty pruning saw... Thanks to you all for the advice - I thought I probably should cut it off! It's going to leave a horrible gap, unfortunately.

There are two diseases that can affect Viburnum called Phytophthora hedraiandra or ramorum. It's a basal stem canker (look for cankers about 10cm up the stem from the base) causing defoliation and dieback
It's been spreading across Europe for a couple of years now. It gets into areas of damage on the plant and destroys it. Cut off dead wood as low to the ground as possible then burn the offcuts -DO NOT COMPOST
Keep an eye on the rest of the plant for similar things happening.
Good luck

Yes cut it out and dispose of it straight away.

if i were you Spritz i would cut all dead and damaged bits out, it could just be that this branch has got damaged, proberly nothing to worry about. viburnum can be pruned qute hard and comes back better for it! - i'm always chopping bits off my mums one for flower arrangments and it seems to like it! pruning should be done after flowering, according to my book, but they do have such a long flowering period. i aways cut it when in flower or sometimes in bud - as this is best for my arrangements, and it does'nt seem to mind at all. it just produces more, if anything cutting now will proberly prolong flowering, so go for it, be brave!

Andrew - I noticed some die-back at the side of one yesterday, should I cut out the dying branches, do you think?

Viburnum tinus - if I could only have one shrub in my garden, it would be this one. Flowers for six months!