Japanese Snowball Viburnum 'Popcorn'

Japanese Snowball 'Popcorn' (Viburnum plicatum f. plicatum 'Popcorn') lives up to its name completely: in late spring the horizontal tiered branches are thickly studded with dense white balls of bloom that look like popped corn. Toothed, strongly veined leaves give the shrub its texture.

That tiered silhouette makes it a ready-made architectural accent: in a cottage garden, an informal border, or against a house wall. At ten years the shrub reaches 1.5-2.5 m in height and width. In autumn the leaves turn red and purple, and in flower it draws butterflies and bees.

Key characteristics:

• What makes it special: The globe-shaped heads are made entirely of sterile florets, so the shrub sets almost no fruit, but the display lasts long and stays flawlessly white.
• Dimensions: 1.5-2.5 m tall and 1.5-2.5 m wide at 10 years.
• Hardiness: Hardy down to -29 °C (USDA zone 5).
• Flowering: In May-June the shrub covers itself in white, ball-shaped flower clusters.
• Light: Full sun or partial shade; equally happy in an open or a sheltered position.
• Soil: Loves moderately fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soil - any pH will do.
• Watering: Water moderately: soil moist but well drained, with no water standing.
• Care: Light tidying pruning is enough (group 1), though the shrub also takes hard rejuvenation pruning calmly.
• Landscape use: Cottage and informal gardens, borders and foundation plantings, and schemes for butterflies and pollinators.
• Origin: The cultivar holds the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.