Snowball Viburnum vs Capilano Apricot - TreeTime.ca

Snowball Viburnum vs Capilano Apricot

Viburnum opulus Roseum

Prunus Capilano

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Snowball Viburnum
Capilano Apricot

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.

Capilano Apricot is a cold-hardy variety known for its sweet, juicy, full-flavored fruit. It produces white to pink blooms in early spring, before the leaves emerge, followed by golden-yellow, freestone apricots. They ripen from mid-July to early August and are well-suited for fresh eating, baking, wine, canning, and preserves.

The Capilano Apricot originated from three trees planted in Edmonton’s Capilano neighbourhood during the 1960s. As they began producing fruit, local fruit enthusiasts took notice and propagated the trees, with the southernmost becoming particularly popular. Though the original trees no longer exist, the Capilano Apricot remains a widely sought-after cold-hardy variety.

Capilano Apricot is generally considered self-pollinating, but planting with another variety for cross-pollination can increase yields.

Note: The early bloom time makes the flowers vulnerable to spring frosts, which can reduce or eliminate the fruit crop

Snowball Viburnum Quick Facts

Capilano Apricot Quick Facts

Zone: 3b
Zone: 3b
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Height: 8 m (25 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 6 m (20 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: spreading to rounded
Spreading: suckering - low
Suckering: low


Fall colour: purplish-red
Bark: gold to gray
Flowers: white
Flowers: white to pink
Bloom time: early spring
Fruit: freestone apricots
Fruit size: 5cm in diameter
Flavor: sweet, slightly tart
Harvest: mid summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: european cranberrybush, guelder rose, snowball bush, snowball tree