Planting Viburnum and Pearl Bush
This is the busiest time of year at my farm - so many new plants, trees, and shrubs are being added to the gardens, especially in my living maze.
Viburnums have long been one of the most popular flowering landscape shrubs. This large group of plants consists of more than 150 species and numerous named cultivars. Viburnums include deciduous and evergreen specimens as well as small trees, mostly native to North America or to Asia. The flowers come in three major types - flat clusters of florets, flat umbels outlined with larger blossoms, and dome-shaped, snowballs. I grow several varieties here at Cantitoe Corners and all are my favorites. Recently, we added a section of viburnum bare root cuttings from Bailey Nurseries and First Editions Shrubs & Trees. We also added another kind of shrub that's new to my gardens - pearl bush, Exochorda, a loose, upright, spring-flowering deciduous shrub in the Roseaceae family that features long-blooming small, round, pearl-like flower buds that open to pure white five-petaled flowers.
Enjoy these photos.
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- This large viburnum is one of several planted along the driveway to my Winter House. Viburnums look exquisite planted in the garden, but they can also be planted in large containers. As with any planting, always consider the mature size of the specimen when selecting a specific pot or location.
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- This is Chinese Viburnum, Viburnum macrocephalum. It shows off six to eight inch flower clusters that open in April.
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- The shrub is full of these beautiful white snowballs. Chinese snowballs grow up to 12 to 20 feet tall with a dense, rounded form.
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- Here is the Japanese snowball, Viburnum plicatum. This shrub grows eight to 15 feet tall and wide. It has showy, two to three-inch snowball-like clusters of white sterile flowers which also start blooming in April.
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- I also have doublefile viburnum – one of the most attractive of viburnums, with a spreading, horizontal branching form.
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- This viburnum is one of two at one side of my Stewartia Garden near my Basket House. It blooms so profusely every year. This Viburnum mariesii is also doublefile.
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- And I have more in the perennial beds not far from my chicken coops. Viburnums are mostly moderate- to fast-growing plants. They can grow from one-foot to more than two-feet per year.
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- I decided to plant some viburnum in my living maze. This trench was dug to accommodate the collection of bare root cuttings. This is a fast way to plant many specimens.
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- The trench is dug as deep as the root ball is tall, so that the crown of each bare root cutting is no more than one or two inches below the soil surface.
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- Viburnum roots can grow up to 18-inches deep. They are also fibrous and can adapt to a variety of different soil types.
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- These viburnum bare root specimens are planted four feet apart. Remember, they are planted in the maze, so I want them to grow closer together. To calculate proper spacing in a garden, divide the mature width of the viburnum by two and plant the shrubs with at least that much space in between them.
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- Once it is in the trench and positioned appropriately, the area is backfilled.
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- It doesn’t take long before an entire row of viburnum is planted.
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- Nearby, another trench is dug – this time for pearl bushes.
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- As with all our plant holes and trenches, this one is given a generous amount of fertilizer for the bare roots.
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- Pear Bush, Exochorda, likes well-drained soil with full sun to partial shade.
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- Here are some of the pearl-like flower buds.
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- And here is an image of Lotus Moon™ Pearl Bush in bloom. It is a heavy spring bloomer that is covered in white round flowers through April and May. (Photo by Tracy Walsh Photography for Bailey Nurseries)
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- The Lotus Moon™ Pearl Bush should be planted about a foot deep with the roots spread inside the hole or trench.
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- After the soil is backfilled, all the bare root cuttings are given a good drink.
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- These shrubs will mature nicely and look so beautiful next to the evergreens in the next row. The entire maze is looking great – I am very pleased with how it is turning out.
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