Depending on the species - whether Japanese snowball, scented snowball, Korean snowball - it presents its flowers in winter or in spring or early summer. They appear fabulously high up on a slender trunk. Below you can read what advantages the stem has and what care it needs.
What are the benefits and care instructions for a snowball tree?
A snowball stem offers advantages such as space-saving growth habit, easy care and an elevated position for better fragrance enjoyment. Care includes regular cutting, watering, fertilizing and, if necessary, winter protection. Snowball logs are particularly suitable for gardens, terraces and balconies.
Advantages over viburnum bushes
A viburnum bush takes up a lot of space. It grows up to 3 m high and wide if left unchecked. But it's not just the smaller growth dimensions that are convincing about a snowball trunk.
Here are the advantages:
- only 80 to 90 cm wide
- space-saving because it is compact
- at eye level
- Flower scent is easy to inhale
- Care is easier (without bending down)
- out of reach of small children and pets (is poisonous)
Here the stem is clearly visible
You should plant the snowball on a trunk in a sunny to partially shaded location. Areas around seats, fence sections and path edges are ideal. Such a stem is also not to be despised in the bed, for example in the front or home garden. There it can be planted as a solitaire in the middle or in the background.
Large and deep pots also prove to be suitable. Planted in it, the snowball stem can fit on a balcony or terrace. There is also a suitable location in front of the house entrance. To the right and left of the front door it welcomes guests with its flowers.
How do you keep the log in shape?
You should of course cut the stem regularly so that it retains its compact shape. A spherical growth habit probably looks best. To do this, it is necessary to thin out the snowball every year - ideally in summer. Disturbing shoots and shoots that have become too long and stick out from the center should be shortened or removed.
Other care measures: watering, fertilizing, overwintering
This stem needs to be watered regularly. It should also receive fertilizer once a year. Compost (€12.00 on Amazon) and horn shavings are well suited. Winter protection in the root area is also recommended in the first year after planting.
Tip
The disadvantage of a snowball as a stem is that this variant is significantly less long-lived than a shrub. The tree also needs a sheltered location so that it doesn't succumb to storms.
