Snowball Viburnum vs Hairy Golden Aster - TreeTime.ca

Snowball Viburnum vs Hairy Golden Aster

Viburnum opulus roseum

Heterotheca villosa

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Snowball Viburnum
Hairy Golden Aster

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.

Hairy Golden Aster is a native perennial wildflower known for its clusters of bright yellow, daisy-like blooms. They bloom from mid-summer into fall, providing late-season colour and a valuable nectar source for pollinators, including a variety of bee species.

Flowers mature into fluffy seed heads and can self-seed readily. Removing spent blooms helps manage their spread, but some people will choose to leave a few seed heads to provide food for birds. Hairy Golden Aster grow in bushy clumps, tolerates poor sandy soils, and once established, are among the most drought-tolerant wildflowers. They are well-suited for pollinator gardens, restoration, naturalization, and xeriscaping projects.

As a perennial, it dies back to the crown each winter, it will regrow from the base in the spring. Avoid disturbing the crown during late winter to ensure healthy growth the following season.

Snowball Viburnum Quick Facts

Hairy Golden Aster Quick Facts

Zone: 3b
Zone: 3a
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Growth form: upright, clump-forming
Spreading: seeds - high, rhizomes - medium
Suckering: low
Maintenance: medium


Fall colour: purplish-red
Bark: gold to gray
Flowers: white
Flowers: bright yellow, daisy-like
Bloom time: mid summer to early fall
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: european cranberrybush, guelder rose, snowball bush, snowball tree
Other Names: hairy false golden aster, hairy false goldenaster, hairy goldenaster