Rejuvenating old Snowball bushes

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imafarmer Albuquerque, NM(Zone 7a) Feb 27, 2008

Or, I should say trees since they are 15-20 feet tall after growing for thirty years. They have been losing a lot of limbs and vigor for the past five years, so I have been removing 3 or 4 old branches every spring. Is it possible to cut everything down and letting them start over with new canes. I don't want to kill them, but they really need a lot of help. Are they dying of old age?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

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snapple45 Holland, OH(Zone 5b) Feb 28, 2008

Some posters with the right advice might be stuck on the use of the common name since there are a couple of large white flowered shrubs that share the name "Snowball". Could you be more explicit? Viburnum plicatum or Hydrangea paniculata?

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HoosierGreen Danville, IN Feb 28, 2008

Either kind (viburnum or hydrangea) can be cut to the ground and they will send up new growth quickly. It would help to either top dress with a few inches of compost (or composted manure from bags) or a couple handfuls of fertilizer since they are so old and the ground is probably depleted. The sooner you cut them down, the better, so that energy will go to new growth from the roots rather than leafing out.

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ic_conifers Iowa City, IA(Zone 5a) Feb 28, 2008

I had a large viburnum at my last house. It was about 15' tall and wider than that - so large it scraped our vehicles when we entered/exited the driveway. I cut it to the ground during the summer and it did not seem harmed at all, sent up new shoots pretty soon. The last time I saw it, it looked great. I would not purchase this shrub for my current house, it was just too vigorous to keep up with! Looked great when in flower, kind of dumpy the rest of the time.

Elizabeth

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imafarmer Albuquerque, NM(Zone 7a) Mar 02, 2008

Thanks to all. And to snapple45, they are viburnum. I am going to rejuvenate them this week. It certainly works for lilacs, so I thought it probably would for virburnum, but had to have some reinforcement from you nice folks. Thanks again, Pat

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HoosierGreen Danville, IN Mar 02, 2008

It's too bad you will lose the wonderful spring flower show with your viburnums, if they are of the "spicebush" variety. If so, you might force some branches inside. In your location, they should be ready to break bud anyway, if they haven't already. You could have some massive bouquets!

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