Viburnum plicatum Mariesii (Japanese Snowball Bush)

One of the cherished mainstay shrubs in countless beautiful gardens up and down the country, Viburnum plicatum Mariesii develops into a good sized shrub of 250cm tall and wide with characteristic, sweeping tiers of wedding cake-like branches. The beautifully delicate lacecap flowers appear along the branches right on cue each year in May, from a distance almost as if snow is laying on them. This is certainly one of those few plants that always marks the season  – if the early daffodils herald the start of Spring – then the flowers of the Japanese Snowball Bush punctuates the end of it and that Summer will soon be with us again. When out of flower the beauty of the deep green, heavily veined leaves becomes more obvious, these turn to hues of purple and red before falling in Autumn.

This lovely Viburnum is not really a hedging plant, it would seem a terrible shame to clip it, and in so scuttle its naturally beautiful form. Instead this is a pride of place shrub, taking centre stage in a sunny mixed border, although in a larger garden a bold, untrimmed swathe of these beauties could certainly make a lovely informal screen. The natural shape of Viburnum plicatum Mariesii lends itself perfectly to other complementary planting, for example a Summer flowering Clematis or two could ramble through the horizontal branches taking over the show after the Viburnum flowers finish,  and perhaps a generous underplanting of Hardy Cyclamen picking up the baton with a carpet of colour at the end of the season – perfect! With its architectural pagoda like growth, this is also a great plant for Japanese themed gardens. A very worthy winner of the RHS Award of Garden merit given to outstanding garden plants.

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