Viburnum plicatum Grandiflorum Noble

Viburnum plicatum 'Grandiflorum' Noble® is undoubtedly the most beautiful of the snowball viburnums. This variety offers a flowering in large white corymbs barely suffused with pink, which is reminiscent of the famous V. opulus, but on a plant a thousand times more beautiful. It distinguishes itself by its magnificent habit, both bushy, rounded and luxuriant,  its earlier, more abundant, whiter flowering, which also evokes those of certain ball-shaped hydrangeas. The autumn colours, sumptuous from September in a range of warm colours, are another asset of this deciduous shrub, which definitely displays a beautiful presence in the garden. Of great beauty, this queen of viburnums will only thrive in fresh, well-drained soil, preferably non-calcareous.

Viburnum plicatum, sometimes called Japanese snowball bush, is a shrub of the Adoxaceae family (formerly classified in the Caprifoliaceae family), native to China and Japan. 'Grandiflorum' Noble® is a horticultural selection that stands out mainly for its large spherical inflorescences consisting only of sterile florets. With a horizontal branching, the plant has a bushy, rounded and spreading habit. It will reach a height of about 2m (6ft 7in) with a spread of 3m (9ft 10in) at maturity, with rather slow growth. Flowering occurs in May and continues until June. The inflorescences in wide spherical cymes of 10cm (3.9in) develop at the end of the branches. They are composed of small well-developed sterile flowers, white in colour sometimes tinged with pink. The leaves, deciduous, measure 5 to 8cm (2 to 3.1in) long, are ovate in shape, tapering, strongly veined, with regularly toothed edges. Their green colour is quite dark and has a satin sheen on the upper side, with a pubescent underside. The foliage takes on beautiful colours from late summer and in autumn, turning yellow and then dark burgundy red to violet.

The "queen of snowballs" deserves a prominent place in a small garden or in the centrre of a mixed border that will showcase summer and autumn flowering, beautiful fruits and graphic foliage. This Viburnum 'Grandiflorum' Noble® can be planted in a shrub border, along with a sacred bamboo, a 'Black Lace' elderberry, Clerodendrum trichotomum, a slender and silver Salix exigua to soften its autumn colours, or a Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea' whose purple foliage will enhance its white inflorescences. It can also be associated with compact Photinias, Elaeagnus, camellias or hydrangeas in non-calcareous soil, the choice is vast. In a border of low perennials and grasses, one can enjoy its beautiful presence in winter.