Vibrant Viburnum

"All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise"

                                                                          Blackbird, by the Beatles.

Viburnum season is one of the most exciting events of spring. Sun Valley is known for many year round offerings, such as tulips, lilies and irises, but for viburnum this is not the case. Viburnum season comes and goes quickly. The pick started at our farm in Willow Creek a couple weeks ago, and will last only into early May.

Viburnum and Germini

These blooms are commonly referred to as snowballs, which is a great descriptor of what this specialty branch is all about. Early in the season they are a bright green almost like a tennis ball, then as the season matures, they turn in to a classy ivory white, like a snowball.

Early season viburnum is green, later season is white.

We grow the Viburum opulus compactum variety, which is excellent for cut flowers. According to Superfloral Retailing the species name  "opulus" is from the Latin "opulentus," which means "splendid" or "sumptuous," for the blooms appearance. Viburnums are members of the honeysuckle family, and are close relatives of the snowberry, which we also grow in Willow Creek.

In current world events, Viburnum has gotten a some notice lately. According to Wikipedia,
Viburnum opulus (Kalyna) is one of the National symbols of Ukraine. Mentions of the bush can be found throughout the Ukrainian folklore such as songs, picturesque art, Ukrainian embroidery, and others. This bush's symbolic roots can be traced to the Slavic paganism of millennia ago. 

Even with a short availability window, Viburnum is extremely popular. It was an Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers "Cut Flower of the Year" in 2010 and we usually sell it as fast as we can harvest it. With tall sturdy stems we have been pairing viburnum with our french tulips in a consumer bunch. The size of the viburnum blooms compliments the big french tulip heads perfectly.

Viburnum and French Tulips

Viburnum season is the epitome of "short and sweet," as flower lovers dig deeper into unusual seasonal offerings Snowballs stands out as specialty flower which is a noteworthy, distinctive addition to any home. Visit our Viburnum Resource Page for Care and Handling, and visit our Flower Talk Blog post from 2012, where we discuss more about actually growing this unique flower. The arrangement in this post are by Pieter Landman, check out our "Flower Presentations with Pieter Landman" YouTube series to see him work with our flowers.