White snowberry: photo and description of the shrub, planting and care in open ground

White snowberry is an ornamental plant with simple care requirements. When planting a crop on a site, you only need to follow basic rules.

What does a snowberry look like?

Snowberry (Symphoricarpos) is a shrub of the Honeysuckle family. It has thin vertical shoots and oval, entire leaves arranged in opposite order. The plates are green and bare on top, bluish with slight pubescence on the bottom. The height of the snowberry is 1.5-3 m, depending on the type.

In May, the plant blooms with small buds up to 6 mm in diameter. The petals are usually pink in color.The buds are collected in dense racemose inflorescences.

White snowberry blooms in waves until September

At the beginning of autumn, the snowberry bears small spherical fruits up to 1 cm in diameter. The berries of the plant are white and contain two seeds inside. The fruits stay on the branches for a long time and do not fall off.

Attention! The perennial is a valuable honey plant that produces nectar even in cold and rainy weather.

Is it possible to eat snowberry

Snowberry is edible for humans - its fruits are moderately toxic and do not pose such a danger as crow's eye, hemlock or wolfberry. If you eat them in large quantities, the body will react with vomiting and diarrhea, but no serious negative consequences will develop.

It is not customary to eat fresh berries even in small quantities. They are tasteless and have no culinary value.

Medicinal properties of white snowberry

The beneficial properties of snowberry extend to many body systems. The plant is used to prepare homemade medicinal infusions and decoctions. When used correctly, medicinal products:

promote rapid healing of wounds, cuts and burns;
relieve inflammation and fight infections in throat diseases;
improve the condition of cough, bronchitis and tuberculosis;
reduces temperature during flu and colds;
prevent the development of diseases of the stomach and intestines.

Infusions and decoctions of the leaves and white berries of the bush are used for sexually transmitted diseases.

Attention! Medicines based on the plant have analgesic properties and help with heavy periods in women.

Varieties and types of snowberry

Before planting a plant on the site, you should study the photo and description of snowberry varieties. The culture is represented by several popular varieties.

White (Symphoricarpos albus)

The shrub reaches 1.5 m in height and has a rounded crown. At the end of spring it bears small flowers of a soft pink hue, collected in thick clusters. Closer to autumn it bears fruit - round white berries. It has high frost resistance and is suitable for breeding in most regions of Russia.

White snowberry has been present in culture since the mid-19th century

Round (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus)

The culture is native to North America; the plant is a large shrub with dark green leaves. Blooms with pink buds collected in short racemes. Closer to autumn, red or light crimson berries with a bluish bloom ripen on the shoots, and at the same time the leaves acquire a deep purple hue.

Rounded snowberry suitable for growing in the south and middle zone

Western (Symphoricarpos occidentalis)

The medium-sized shrub is native to North America. In its natural environment, the perennial grows on river banks and slopes with rocky soil. The leaves are soft green, pubescent on the underside, the buds are bell-shaped in shape, with white or pink petals. Snowberry blossoms begin in June, and closer to autumn it bears soft, round berries. The skin of the fruit of the plant is white or pale pink.

Western snowberry blooms all summer until early September

Mountain-loving (Symphoricarpos oreophilus)

A shrub with oval or rounded leaves blooms with pink and white buds. The flowers are either single or paired and are bell-shaped.The fruits of the plant are slightly oblong, small, with white skin.

The mountain-loving snowberry has average frost resistance and requires good shelter for the winter.

Henault (Symphoricarpos chenaulti)

In size, the snowberry reaches 1.5 m in diameter, has dark green leaves, bluish in the lower part. Brings pink flowers collected in dense clusters. The fruits of this species are white, pinkish or dark purple, and do not fall from the branches for a long time.

The Henault snowberry rises up to 1.5 m above the ground

How to plant snowberry

Growing snowberry and caring for the crop is quite simple. On a site for shrubs, you need to choose a sunny or semi-shaded place with moderately moist soil. The selected area is dug up in advance, fertilized with humus and peat, and river sand is also added to increase looseness.

Shrubs are planted in spring or mid-autumn. It is necessary to dig several holes up to 65 cm deep, leaving a free space of 1.2-1.5 m between them. A layer of broken brick or crushed stone is placed in the holes, and a nutrient substrate with the addition of wood ash and superphosphate is poured on top to the middle.

Direct planting of white snowberry is carried out according to the following scheme:

Shrub seedlings are soaked in lukewarm water for several hours.
Dip the roots of the plants into a clay mash.
The seedlings are lowered in the center of the prepared holes.
Spread the roots to the sides and fill the voids with the remaining soil.
Use your hands to crush the soil in the tree trunk circle.

After planting, the root collar of the white snowberry should remain flush with the surface of the earth. In the first few days, the bushes are watered abundantly and shaded from the bright sun for speedy establishment.

Attention! It is necessary to prepare holes for white snowberry about a month before planting.

Caring for white snowberry

In order for a snowberry hedge to quickly take root on a site, the plants need to be provided with high-quality care. Several points need attention.

Watering

The shrub is hardy and does not require frequent watering. However, during periods of severe drought, it needs to be moistened from time to time. In the evening or morning, twice a week, 15-20 liters of water are poured under each bush.

During the rainy season, additional moisture is not required. Excessive watering can cause root rot.

Loosening and weeding

After each watering or rain, it is recommended to turn the soil at the roots of the crop with a rake to a depth of 10 cm. This helps prevent the formation of a hard crust that prevents the access of oxygen. At the same time, the plants are weeded and the emerging weeds are removed.

To protect against weeds and drying out of the soil, bushes after planting can be mulched with a layer of peat

Top dressing

The white snowberry on the site does not require frequent feeding, but reacts positively to periodic fertilization. In the spring, superphosphate and potassium salt in a volume of 100 g are scattered in the tree trunk circle. The plant can also be fertilized with 5-6 kg of compost or humus.

In the middle of the season, at the height of flowering, white snowberry can be fed with Agricola solution. About 50 g of fertilizer is diluted in a bucket of water and the bush is watered in cloudy but dry weather.

Pruning white snowberry

To maintain the attractiveness of the shrub, it is recommended to prune the snowberry in the spring before active sap flow begins.During the cutting process, dry, diseased and broken shoots that have frozen over the winter are removed. Healthy branches are shortened to half to stimulate the growth of new stems.

After 8-10 years of life, pruning for the snowberry in the spring is carried out more globally. All shoots are shortened to 50 cm so that new strong branches grow from dormant buds over the summer. Radical pruning allows you to rejuvenate the bushes and improves flowering rates.

Diseases and pests

White snowberry is a hardy plant that rarely suffers from diseases and pests. However, the following pose a certain danger to him:

powdery mildew - the fungus covers the leaves of the plant with a dry grayish-white coating;
Powdery mildew on white snowberry usually develops in waterlogged conditions
gray rot - the disease mainly affects the fruits of the bush, the berries darken and fall off the branches;
Gray rot on white berries occurs in marshy, acidic soil
slugs and snails - gastropods appear on leaves in rainy weather.
Snails are removed from the leaves by hand; for prevention, you can sprinkle the soil at the roots with straw or wood chips

To prevent diseases of the white snowberry, you need to control the amount of moisture in the bush. Treatment of diseases is carried out with Bordeaux mixture and copper sulfate, as well as with the drugs Topaz, Skor or Fundazol. Spraying is carried out after the first symptoms appear or as a preventive measure - in early spring before buds form.

How to propagate snowberry

White snowberry is easy to propagate. There are several ways to increase the plant population on a site.

Propagation of snowberry by cuttings

Snowberry can be propagated by cuttings in early summer.The material is harvested immediately after the crop blooms; well-developed and healthy green shoots are cut off.

The cuttings are placed in a container of water and left for several days. After this, the shoots are planted in a box with a nutritious loose substrate, moistened and covered with cut plastic bottles. With proper care, the cuttings will give roots by autumn, and in the spring they can be transplanted to a permanent place in the ground.

Reproduction of snowberry by seeds

Propagation by seeds takes a long time, but for the first time a shrub on a site is usually grown using this method. The algorithm looks like this:

The planting material is pre-soaked in clean water and then dried.
Seeds are sown before winter in shallow boxes filled with a substrate of humus, peat and river sand.
Moisten the soil generously with a spray bottle and cover the container with film or glass.
During the winter, keep in a cool, moderately lit place and water from time to time.

With the onset of spring, the first shoots should appear in the container. During the season, seedlings are grown at home, and in the fall they are transferred to open ground.

Dividing the bush

To propagate adult white snowberry bushes, it is recommended to use the division method. In early spring before the start of active growing season or in autumn after leaf fall, the plant is dug out of the ground and the rhizome is cut into 2-3 parts.

The divisions are treated with a fungicidal solution and a growth stimulator and placed in individual wells. After planting, the bushes need to be watered generously and mulched with organic material.

When propagating by division, you need to ensure that each plant has strong roots and developed above-ground shoots.

By layering

White snowberry has flexible thin branches and reproduces well by layering. In early spring, one of the lower shoots is bent to the ground and fixed with the middle part in a shallow groove. The top is left above the surface.

During the season, the cuttings are watered and fed along with the mother bush. In autumn, the shoot can be separated and transferred to an individual hole.

Root shoots

White snowberry actively produces root shoots. Excess shoots can not only be trimmed, but also used for propagation.

The procedure is simple - the clump formed at some distance from the bush is dug up and separated from the main root with sharp pruning shears. After this, the shoots are moved to a new location and standard care is provided.

Snowberry in garden design

Photos of shrubs with snow berries show that the crop is used everywhere in landscape design. Most often, perennials are used to create hedges. It forms very dense thickets and hides the area well from prying eyes.

White snowberry lends itself well to a curly haircut

Shrubs can be planted in shady corners of the garden and on slopes. The roots of the plant prevent soil erosion. The culture goes well with other perennials - spirea, juniper, barberry.

Attention! White snowberry easily tolerates unfavorable ecology and polluted air.

Conclusion

White snowberry is a hardy plant with beautiful flowering and decorative fruits. It does not require complex care, develops quickly and allows you to form a dense hedge in a couple of years.