The Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush, otherwise known as the Exochorda ‘Blizzard’ or Chinese Fountain Bamboo, Fountain Bamboo, Arundinaria nitida, Semiarundinaria nitida, Sinarundinaria nitida, Clump-Forming Bamboo, is a rather well known bamboo plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low to average maintenance and moderate growth, this bamboo will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
In order to take proper care of your Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush you’ll need to keep in mind the following guidelines:
- Water: The Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush needs moderate but deep watering once it is established.
- Light: Keep your Exochorda ‘Blizzard’ in an environment where it can receive partial shade to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush in soil with moist but well-draining to poorly draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of loam and clay.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush belongs to the Poaceae family, the genus Fargesia and the species Nitida, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Exochorda ‘Blizzard’.
Other popular Poaceae plants include species like Calamagrostis ‘Stricta’, Japanese Forest Grass ‘Aureola’, Chinese Silver Grass ‘Strictus’, Eulalia ‘Morning Light’, Phyllostachys Aurea, Calamagrostis X Acutiflora ‘Avalanche’, Panicum Virgatum ‘Cheyenne Sky’ Plant Patent #23209, Baccharis Magellanica, Fagus Sylvatica ‘Rotundifolia’, Chinese Silver Grass ‘Flamingo’, Japanese Forest Grass ‘Alboaurea’ and Korean Feather Reed Grass.
As with other Fargesia’s, the Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush is a deciduous plant, which means it will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
Growing Region
The Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush is a plant native to the China.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend to always keep in mind your plants’ native region and environment, since these are the conditions that your Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush is most accustomed to, thus where it can most favorably.
With this in mind, the Exochorda ‘Blizzard’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 5 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, what size of Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…
The Exochorda ‘Blizzard’ can grow up to 10′ – 15′ (3m – 4.5m) in 10′ – 15′ (3m – 4.5m) and 3′ – 5′ (90cm – 150cm) in 3′ – 5′ (90cm – 150cm).
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful compact shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
Water
In terms of watering, the Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Exochorda ‘Blizzard’ needs moderate but deep watering once it is established.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush in soil with moist but well-draining to poorly draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has moist properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush prefers to have soil with moist properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of loam and clay.
This is why most experts agree that the Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush requires soil with clay, high organic matter, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush requires partial shade to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this bamboo will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Exochorda ‘Blizzard’ in from little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to dappled or moderate shade (under other plant’s canopy).
Season
Being a deciduous plant, the Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
In particular, this bamboo is well known for its showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush produces some beautiful white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
You can expect the leaves from your Exochorda ‘Blizzard’ to be around (1-3 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush is well known for its tolerance to animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Exochorda ‘Blizzard’ will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Exochorda ‘Blizzard’ owners agree that this bamboo will look great in most cottage gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of city and courtyard styles.
In particular, the Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush’s best location within your garden is in hedges and screens, and in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a border, or a woodland garden.
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Snow Day® Blizzard Pearl Bush in your garden or home.
