Snowball Viburnum vs Fireweed - TreeTime.ca

Snowball Viburnum vs Fireweed

Viburnum opulus roseum

Chamaenerion angustifolium (Epilobium angustifolium)

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Snowball Viburnum
Fireweed

Snowball Viburnum is a popular ornamental shrub with prolific flowering. This plant is prized for its round clusters of white flowers that resemble snowballs, delighting children and adults. In fall, its leaves turn vibrant shades of red.

Snowball Viburnum is sought after as a single accent shrub, but can also make a dense hedge or privacy screen.

Fireweed is a native perennial wildflower known for its tall spikes of bright pink to purple blooms. Its long-lasting summer flowers are an important nectar source for pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, while its seeds provide food for birds. Its showy, long-lasting display makes it visually striking in naturalized plantings.

Fireweed gets its namesake because it is often one of the first species to return after wildfires, supporting ecosystem recovery. Its wind-dispersed seeds allow it to spread readily, making it highly effective in large-scale restoration, revegetation, and naturalization projects.
Fireweed is the Provincial Flower of the Yukon.

Snowball Viburnum Quick Facts

Fireweed Quick Facts

Zone: 3b
Zone: 1a
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: upright, dense, colony-forming
Spreading: seeds - high, rhizomes - high
Suckering: low
Maintenance: medium


Fall colour: purplish-red
Bark: gold to gray
Flowers: white
Flowers: pink-purple spikes
Bloom time: mid summer to fall
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU, PE
Other Names: european cranberrybush, guelder rose, snowball bush, snowball tree
Other Names: fire weed, great willowherb, rosebay willowherb, willow herb