A snowball forms its noble stature with a lavish flower dress on its own. The picturesque wood benefits from an occasional topiary when the ravages of time gnaw at it. Read this tutorial on when and how to properly prune your viburnum shrubs.

The best time to cut back is in winter

Table of Contents

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  1. plant cutting
  2. Cut sporadically
  3. Do not clean faded flowers
  4. taper cut
  5. Observe cutting technique
  6. frequently asked Questions

    7. Pruning encourages branching

    Anyone who decides to cut a freshly planted snowball is making use of an important law of growth. The principle of peak support teaches us that terminal buds are primarily supplied with growth energy. Lower positioned buds are dormant or sprout only weakly. By cutting off dominant buds, the increased sap pressure encourages previously subordinate buds to grow. The result is lush branching at the base of the bush. This is how the perfect pruning succeeds:

    • The best time is in spring after planting
    • Bare-root young shrubs: Cut back all shoots by a third or half
    • Rule of thumb for pruning: the weaker the young shoots, the stronger the pruning
    • Potted goods with root ball: cut off damaged, weak shoots, do not cut remaining shoots

    Before you plant a bare-rooted viburnum shrub in the ground, please examine the roots carefully. Please cut off kinked, torn or otherwise damaged root strands. Shorten overly long roots to a length of 20 to 25 centimeters.

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    Some of the prettiest Viburnum species have leaves covered with wispy fibers. Allergy sufferers and asthmatics should wear a breathing mask and goggles when cutting the snowball varieties in question to avoid contact of the eyes or respiratory tract with the fine hairs.

    Sporadic shape and maintenance cut

    A snowball forms its shapely silhouette under its own steam. At a young age, horticultural interventions cannot enhance the natural beauty. Up to the sixth or eighth year, pruning is limited to removing bent or frozen shoots. The figure below illustrates how an older viburnum can benefit from an occasional pruning to shape and maintenance when its vitality wanes after eight years at the latest. How to properly cut a snowball:

    • The best time is after flowering
    • Sharpen, clean and disinfect pruning shears with spirit
    • Start by thinning out dead, cross-growing and damaged branches
    • Overly long shoots that incline to the ground lead to an indoor, one-year-old side shoot

    From the beginning of the sixth year, you can effectively prevent signs of aging by pruning out the oldest shoots on the ground every year. As a replacement, use the strongest young shoot that you do not cut in the first few years. Weak ground shoots that sprout as a result of the thinning must give way for a light-flooded, airy snowball bush.

    After 6 to 8 years, a viburnum bush will benefit from pruning to shape and maintain. Overly long twigs lead you to a lower-lying, annual side shoot. One or two of the oldest shoots should give way to encourage the growth of young shoots.

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    Excessive pruning causes aphid infestation

    It is not only aesthetic criteria that prohibit severe pruning of viburnum bushes. Viburnum is characterized by massive sprouting of very long, soft shoots in response to deep pruning. A slow rate of growth of 10 to 15 cm per year means that young shoots lignify slowly. These relationships offer ideal conditions for aphids. It is strongly recommended to limit the maintenance of the cut to what is absolutely necessary. In an emergency, you can fight lice on viburnum with tried-and-tested home remedies, such as the tried-and-tested soap solution.

    Do not trim faded flowers

    The ball- or plate-shaped flowers turn into blue-black berries by fall, decorating a viburnum shrub well into winter. On the way there, the withered inflorescences are really no feast for the eyes for a short time. Anyone who tolerates the floral signs of transience will be rewarded with magnificent fruit decorations. Cleaning faded Viburnum flowers is only advisable in the family garden, because unripe berries are slightly poisonous.

    Rejuvenate old viburnum in stages

    Slow growth and little need for pruning tempt home gardeners to completely ignore pruning. Without occasional thinning out of dead wood and slimming of overly long branches, the snowball grows old into an impenetrable thicket with few flowers. It's a good thing that most Viburnum species tolerate pruning. Instead of uprooting an old, neglected shrub, a rejuvenating pruning fixes the problem. How to do it:

    • Rejuvenate viburnum in two stages
    • The best time is in late winter when temperatures are above freezing
    • First year: Cut off half of the branches at ground level
    • In summer: Cut back young shoots by half in July
    • Second year: thin out the second half of the bottom shoots
    • In summer: Cut back new shoots from the second stage by half

    The summer pruning of the new sprouting primarily promotes stability. Furthermore, the pruning in the lower half causes a sap accumulation, which contributes to the tapered viburnum branching out luxuriantly at the base. The flowering shrub is well positioned with a framework of five to seven ground shoots. Surplus bottom shoots should be removed for a successful rebuild.

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    Complete taper pruning in winter

    The late winter weeks between mid-January and early March are the best time to revitalize an old snowball bush in several ways. In the transition from winter rest to the summer growth period, the sap pressure increases significantly. Pruning now has the maximum effect on slow-growing Viburnum species, which you can see from the vigorous budding. Furthermore, with the choice of winter dates, you conform to the provisions of the Federal Nature Conservation Act. Section 39 stipulates that extensive pruning is permitted between October 1st and February 28th. The reason is the protection of wild animals, especially breeding birds.

    Note pruning technique on buds

    Whatever the reason for your snowball pruning, the key to success is proper pruning technique. For the interface, choose a vigorous bud that faces outward. A distance of 5 millimeters ensures that you neither cut the eye nor leave a long stub. The illustration below demonstrates how to position the scissors perfectly.

    Cut viburnum sprigs just above a bud. Hold the scissors at a slight angle so that the highest point is just above the bud.

    frequently asked Questions

    Is the snowball poisonous?

    All Viburnum species and varieties are classified as moderately poisonous plants. Leaves, bark and unripe fruits contain various toxins, which in large quantities can cause symptoms of poisoning in humans and animals. This does not apply to the ripe, blue-black berries. In Eastern Europe, the fruits are harvested in autumn and processed into jelly.

    A number of shoots with different, lobed leaves grow around our snowball 'Aurora'. Could it be wild shoots?

    Viburnum carlesii 'Aurora' is a refinement. For this reason, it is not uncommon for wildlings to sprout from the rootstock. The different leaves are a clear indication. Remove the wild shoots directly from the root with a courageous jerk or as deep a cut as possible. This prevents further wildlings from growing.

    Should I leave the withered flowers in order to enjoy the fruit decoration or can the unsightly brown remains be cut off?

    The decorative berries can only develop if you leave withered flowers on the snowball. On early-blooming and frost-sensitive evergreen Viburnum varieties, frozen inflorescences are often to be lamented after severe night frosts. No more fruit can form from this, so you can remove the dead remains.

    Last year we planted a winter snowball that actually bloomed in February. Then, at the beginning of March, the big snow came, leaving behind a more than poor bush. What can we do?

    A young snowball bush in particular benefits from pruning its shoots to stimulate branching. Even if more flowers and buds fall victim to a pruning now, you should cut back all branches by half. Thin out shoots that buckled as a result of snow pressure.

    I have never cut my 10 year old viburnum. How does it work? When is the best time?

    After flowering is the best time to cut back. Cut back the shrub by about a third on all sides. A rounded shape is ideal for light-flooded growth. Completely remove dead and visibly diseased wood.

    The 3 most common cutting mistakes

    If gardeners are tempted to make radical cuts by the good-natured pruning tolerance of Viburnum, long, soft shoots and aphid infestation are inevitable. Cleaning withered blossoms robs the viburnum of its pretty berries. The following overview draws attention to three common pruning mistakes in viburnum bushes with tips for prudent prevention:

    cutting error damage picture prevention
    cut too radically Shoots long, soft shoots, infestation with aphids occasionally thin out, separate overlong branches
    dead flowers cut off no autumnal fruit decorations Do not trim faded viburnum
    used blunt pruning shears frayed cuts, spread of disease Freshly sharpen and meticulously disinfect scissor blades
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    tips

    The rare need for pruning does not imply that you have to do without the uncomplicated propagation by cuttings of your most beautiful snowball bushes. Early summer is the best time to cut off semi-lignified, non-flowering shoot tips that are 8 to 15 centimeters long. The bottom half is defoliated before planting and watering each cutting in a pot of potting soil.

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Vegetable garden