Spirea
Location: across campus
Approximate blooming period: late May - July
Japanese meadowsweet, Spirea x bumalda
Origin: China, Korea, Japan
Habitat: Hardy to USDA Zone 3
Height and Form: 2-4 ft (0.6-1.2 m), wider than tall, Deciduous shrub
Foliage and Bark: thin brown stems which bear leaves that are purplish when young, then green, also turns deep, bronze red in the fall
Flowers, Fruit, and Seeds: abundant white to pink flowers that turn into dry, brown follicles
Cultivars/Varieties:
Japanese meadowsweet ‘Little Princess’, Spirea japonica
Origin: China, Korea, Japan
Habitat: Hardy to USDA Zone 4
Height and Form: low, 2 x 3 ft height and width (60 x 90 cm), Deciduous shrub, dense, mounding.
Foliage and Bark: Leaves alternate, simple, to 2.5 cm long, sharp serrations, mint green.
Flowers, Fruit and Seeds: Flowers rose-cimson to white, flat-topped clusters.
Cultivars/Varieties:
Japanese meadowsweet, Spirea x nipponica
Origin: Native to the island of Shikoku, Japan.
Habitat: Hardy to USDA Zone 3
Height and Form: deciduous vase-shaped shrub about 3' to 5' tall
Foliage and Bark: alternate leaves are deep bluish-green on reddish-brown stems
Flowers, Fruit, and Seeds: small white flowers that turn into brown capsules
Culture: full sun to part shade, prefers well-drained soil
Cultivars/Varieties: "Snowmound" is the most common cultivar
Thunberg's meadowsweet, Spirea thunbergi
Origin: China, Japan
Habitat: Hardy to USDA Zone 4
Height and Form: a deciduous vase-shaped shrub
Foliage and Bark: alternate, thin, linear green leaves that turn yellow-orange in the fall on very slender branches
Flowers, Fruit and Seeds: white flowers bloom in the spring before the leaves, the fruits are brown follicle
Cultivars/Varieties: the first spirea to bloom
- 'Ogon' - Mellow YellowTM
- ‘Fujino Pink’
- 'Mt. Fuji'
- 'Yat Sabusa' - cultivar with double white flowers, this form is rarely seen and appears identical to the species in other respects.
