Probably many people know the common Kalina - this unpretentious shrub grows almost everywhere, and not only in the forests, but also in the gardens of villages, in the suburban areas of the townspeople, and even in city alleys. In Russia they love viburnum for carved foliage - emerald in summer and crimson in autumn, for snow-white flowering and for the red clusters of berries that have decorated the bush from autumn to deep snow. Viburnum berries are very bitter, so you can eat them only after cooking, turning the berries into sweet and sour jelly, jam or compote.
But a relative of the common viburnum - Viburnum Buldonezh - is still known to a few. This is a decorative form of shrubs, which in May-June is covered with snow-white balls of inflorescences reaching 12-15 cm in diameter. The flowers are odorless, berries are not formed from them. But for this plentiful and prolonged flowering (a month and a half), for the unusual shape of inflorescences in the form of a ball, the viburnum Buldonezh earned a great love of landscape designers.
The name Buldonezh from French is translated - snow balls. This is a frost-resistant shrub that can withstand pruning and crown formation on the stem - low or high.
Kalina Buldonezh gratefully responds with lush flowering, if you select for her a sunny place protected from the cold wind, and place the roots of the plant in fertile light soil. This noble overseas mistress does not like low places open to the winds and heavy clay soil.
If there is a pond on the site, then there is no better place for viburnum - it is very hygroscopic, and therefore waterlogging tolerates much better drought. The well-developed root system of the shrub allows you to use it to strengthen the slopes on the site. Viburnum Buldonezh propagates best in spring - by layering or cuttings, both lignified, with already blossomed leaves, and young green shoots. Cuttings are carried out in April-May, placing petioles in a soil-sand moist mixture, covering them with a film and preventing drying of the soil. A permanent place is planted next spring.
The recommended distance between the bushes is 1.5-2 m, a pit is prepared with a size of 50x50x50 cm, in which a young plant - viburnum Buldonezh is located. Shrub planting is carried out in autumn or spring.
In order to see the abundant flowering every spring, which pleases and surprises the viburnum Buldonezh (a photo of it is given as a decoration of this article), growing young shoots after flowering (end of July) must be cut off. To form a standardized form of a bush with a height of 1 m, one of the most powerful central shoots — the trunk of a future tree — is expelled in three years, the remaining shoots are removed. Viburnum rejuvenation is carried out by cutting off all old branches at a height of 20 cm from ground level.
Viburnum prefers organic fertilizers, but do not forget about the reasonable amount of nutrients introduced. Bushes at the beginning of flowering can be attacked by aphids and leaf-eaters, which disappear after treatment of the bushes with “Fitoverm” or “Aktelik” preparations.
Caring for viburnum Bulldonezh is simple, and the beauty of flowering is amazing - no one will pass by indifferently. Grow this overseas plant on your plots and enjoy the snow balls in early summer!