Snowball Viburnum vs Twinflower - TreeTime.ca

Snowball Viburnum vs Twinflower

Viburnum opulus roseum

Linnaea borealis

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

CUSTOM GROW

Snowball Viburnum
Twinflower

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.

Twinflower is a native, trailing evergreen ground cover known for its delicate flowers that grow in nodding pairs. These pale pink blooms are described as being sweetly fragrant, attracting native bees and other pollinators.
Growing in cool, moist, acidic soils, the trailing stems form roots as they spread and start to form mats across the forest floor. Due to its woody stem, it is technically classified as a shrub and often referred to as a subshrub or dwarf shrub. This species is well-suited for naturalization, restoration, and conservation projects.
Twinflower (Linneae borealis) was named in honour of Carl Linnaeus, who adopted it as his personal emblem.

Snowball Viburnum Quick Facts

Twinflower Quick Facts

Zone: 3b
Zone: 2a
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Height: 0.1 m (0.4 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: any
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: creeping or trailing, ground cover
Spreading: stolons - medium, seeds - low
Suckering: low


Fall colour: purplish-red
Fall colour: reddish tinge
Bark: gold to gray
Flowers: white
Flowers: Pink, bell-shaped, fragrant pairs
Bloom time: summer
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: northern twinflower, pink bells