Bigleaf Snowbell

Size, growth and what to expect

Bigleaf snowbell grows slowly, about a foot a year in our growth estimator. It grows 8 to 20 feet tall and 6 to 15 feet wide. In the wild it can reach about 26 feet.

The leaves run up to 8 inches long, dark green above and whitish with star-shaped hairs beneath. In April and May it bears sprays of up to 19 white bells. The fragrant bells have yellow stamens. The nutlike fruit is a third to half an inch across. It ripens in August and September, and birds and small animals eat it.

It grows wild from Virginia to north Florida and west to east Texas. Local stands reach north to southern Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. It lives in upland woods, ravines, rocky banks and bluffs, usually on sandy soil.

How to grow Bigleaf Snowbell

Bigleaf snowbell grows in part shade under tall trees, as it does in the wild, and it takes full shade or sun. It wants a sandy or loamy soil, acid to neutral, that stays moist but drains well. It does not take flooding. It likes summer heat and grows poorly where summers are cool. Plant it 8 feet from a wall, and set plants 8 feet apart, since it suckers into a thicket in time. It stays short enough to plant within 15 feet of overhead wires.

Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the stems. Sow cleaned seed outdoors in fall. For spring, hold it damp in the refrigerator for about three months first.

Water weekly through the first two summers, then only in long dry spells. Deer and rabbits browse young shrubs, so cage them for a year or two. Pull suckers that stray where you do not want them, and prune only dead or broken wood.

Bigleaf snowbell carries both male and female parts in each flower, but it may set no seed with its own pollen. Plant two or more from different seed, since bees carry the pollen between plants. It has no serious insect or disease problems.