can you post a pic in focus...

they dont look like V to me .. on this pic .. they dont look woody????

in the garage.. they are not houseplants .. they should not mind cold ... just not below 34 or so ... and even if it gets near that outdoors.. i wont in the garage ...

plant after ALL CHANCE Of frost/freeze is past.. as they are no longer dormant ...

your expectations are extremely high ... they will not bloom this year.. nor would i expect 6 feet.. if in fact they are V .. [look more like mums to me... ]

i would near bare root.. and plant in native soil ... and i would NEVER fert them... ever ..

see link for planting guide... IF... you water .. PROPERLY.. all this season ... they will be ... what i call.. run them over with the truck plants.. never needing anything else ... but perhaps some lower expectations on your part ...

dont kill them.. with too much love ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Wow Ken, I wasn't expecting that. I don't enough know enough yet to determine if I have the wrong plant. I ordered these online and they say Snowball Viburnum Bush. Hopefully you change your mind with the new pic. I don't know what 'woody ' means or 'bare root'. I do plan to put out in native soil but it's still freezing here. So if I just set them outside until time will they go dormant again? Also can these be planted with hydrangeas? And I did a lot of reading here last night and appropriately adjusted my expectations.

Another pic...

ok.. definitely Vs ... must have been the straight down angle .. and blur ....

if they go dormant again.. they are dead ...

if they were bare sticks.. meaning fully dormant.. they could be put outside ... but they are not ...

but they are growing now ... those cute green leaves will be damaged by frost and/or FREEZE ... you have to differentiate those two words ...

just put them in the garage ... in the evening ... but you have to protect those leaves ... or just leave them in the garage ... as usual.. the only night you forget to put them away.. will be the night you get a frost or a freeze ...

if you do pull them out of the garage.. then in shade.. NEVER put a black pot in sun ...

plus everything i said in the above post ... except for the mum part.. lol ..

and they will not need a lot of water with cool days.. and cold nights in pots ... err towards allowing some drying.. but never bone dry.. shove your finger in there and find out.. no guessing ....

do not kill them with too much love ...

good luck

ken

ps: and keep these pix.. someday.. when its an overgrown mess.. lol .. the last pic above is what it would look like after you cut it near to the ground one season ... and it will break your heart to do it.. but you will see.. this year.. how the plant will respond ... plus.. there wont be the root interference of planting ... and it might grow back 6 feet the next time ...

The trouble with common names... Snowball viburnum is usually v. macrocephalum. This is not what you got. The pictures show what is probably v. opulus. Still a viburnum, but there are several cultivars of this species, some of which are very slow growing dwarfs which rarely bloom. Check the description at wherever you ordered these for more information as to species and variety.

Don't plant out until danger of a hard freeze is past.

Called first thing...the company guarantees these are Viburnum Macrocephalum 'sterile'

Perhaps the company mislabeled. Still, leaves look nothing like macrocephalum and a great deal like opulus. Google either for pictures and you'll easily see the difference.

You're right akamainegrower. I did some leaf reserch. Should i make a stink? Im concerned about the 'never bloom' comment but other that is there something wrong with this species. Since i made this post they actually look better. The leaves are filling im more. But one day I want to see big chinese snowballs....bottomline!

What to do is really up to you. There's nothing wrong with v. opulus, but the blossoms look more like those of a hydrangea with sterile florets surrounding the inner fertile ones in a flat disk shape. They're not the big round "snow balls" of v. macrocephalum at all. There are several selections of v. opulus. 'Nanum' is a dwarfish one that almost never blooms. It's hard to have very much confidence in a nursery that insists that one of their products is something it is clearly not, but mistakes can happen. If it were me, I think I would insist on getteing what I ordered. Perhaps if you sent them the picture of what you received they would also realize their error. If they still insist it's v. macrocephalum, I'm not sure what you should do except never order from them again. Macrocephalum is commonly available, so you ought to be able to find the real thing at a local nursery.

Over here Snowball Tree is generally used for V opulus 'Roseum' aka V opulus 'Sterile'. That's what these bushes look like. Compare the leaves at the link. If you are keeping them under cover they should not be kept too warm or they will produce sappy, weak growth. Keep them as light and cool as possible without actually freezing.

I am interested that you all think V macrocephalum would grow in z6 since it is considered tender in the UK and it is recommended that it be grown against a sheltered wall here. Do you think it's something to do with summer heat ripening the wood so it can withstand the winter? Our winters are much warmer than z6 but our summers are much cooler.

Here is a link that might be useful: V opulus 'Roseum'

This post was edited by floral_uk on Mon, Apr 7, 14 at 9:20

This just shows that you never know what you'll get from this site. Thanks to akamainegrower I now have a very handsome credit with a particular online plant retailer and two free shrubs. They looked into it and found that it was a misprint. They don't have any V. M. 's in stock they're all V. O's so I get to keep mine and the full price as a credit. I'll admit that I would never have known the difference and now I have this new fear that'll never get any snowballs but I did learn quite a bit here about doing more research and being more informed.

So on another note...even though my garden is full anybody have any suggestions on some other big white flowers that I can use my credit on. Im looking for big and showy.

Just wanted to give an update on the two snowballs. I'm not too happy with their progress over the summer. I wasn't expecting any snowballs but I was expecting them to get a bit full and maybe a little more height. I planted in a place where I'm expecting them to be a huge bush. I planted with lots of hummus, manure and peat moss. I think I might have to move it out a little as my Mom says I put it too close to the fence. Any planting suggestions since I'm opening up the hole. Any I'd really like to know how I should protect for this first winter.

they should be 6 to 8 feet from the fence .. as i said in my first reply ...

though i am not sure.. which cultivar you have ... i cant follow the above this morning ....

ALL I EXPECT THE FIRST YEAR .... is that the darn thing lives... anything beyond that is a bonus.. but not expected..

your plants look fat and happy ... lower your expectations ...

i would move them anytime in the next 3 weeks or so ... and if the leaves fall off [deciduous??] .. all the better ... i would dig out at least twice the width of what i planted.. to take some of the new roots that grew this year ...

and do make sure.. there are no utilities buried in the area ...

mom is wise ... listen to her ....

ken

You planted two plants that you expected would become huge barely two feet from each other and right up against a fence. Replant them at least 6-8 feet from the fence as Ken said and at least 6-8 feet from each other. If they live, they'll grow, right?

They will get as big as a normal dining room. Plant accordingly.
They did get off to a slow start though, not anywhere near what they could have done.
I'd keep the grass away from the rootball when you replant.
Mike