Spirea is an ornamental perennial shrub from the Pink family. It is common in the forests and forest-steppes of the temperate zone, as well as on the slopes of the Alps, the Himalayas and near Mexico. Plants are used to decorate parks and gardens. Their cascading, curving branches in spring and summer are plentifully covered with small flowers, like foam or a snow cap. Sometimes spirea is called a meadowsweet, but this is a mistake. Meadowsweet is a herbaceous plant, while spirea is a shrub with woody shoots.
Botanical characteristics
Spirea is a deciduous perennial plant 0.15-2.5 m high. It is nourished by a fibrous superficial rhizome. Shoots grow straight, spread along the ground or rise. Over time, even upright branches bend under their own weight. The color of the branches is light brown or dark brown. The bark exfoliates with longitudinal plates.
The next short-leaflets do not have stipules and differ in narrow-lanceolate form with a distinct relief pattern of the central and lateral veins. The edges of the foliage serrate or jagged. Coloring can be very diverse. Some plants are covered with green leaves throughout the season, while the foliage of others changes several times from red to yellow, green or orange.
The first weak bloom begins with the second or third year of life of the spirea. In mid-spring or already in summer, many umbrella or panicled inflorescences bloom in the axils of the leaves. Close to each other, small corollas with a diameter of 6-10 mm are disk-shaped. Flowers with five separate rounded petals and a lush core (up to 60 stamens and about 5 ovaries) can be painted white or pink.
After pollination, brown lanceolate flat seeds ripen in multi-seeded leaflets. Their length is only 1.5-2 mm. Ripe fruits crack at the seams on their own.
Types and varieties of spirea
To date, scientists have discovered almost 100 species of spirea.
Spiraea oak-leaved. Frost-resistant sprawling shrub with ribbed branches grows 1.5-2 m in height. It is covered with ovoid or oval leaves. Closer to the edge of the sheet plate is double-sawed. Its length is 35-45 mm. The color of the leaves is bright green, and the flip side is gray. Flowering occurs in May-June, when many white corymbose inflorescences blossom.
Japanese Spirea. Vegetation 120-200 cm tall consists of straight red-brown branches with a circular cross section. They grow simple oval leaves 25-75 mm in length. In late May, thick shields of white-pink flowers bloom, which last up to 45 days. Varieties:
- Little Princesses - sprawling shoots up to 60 cm high and 120 cm wide with dark green oval foliage in June-July are covered with pink-red flowers;
- Golden Princess - a bush about 1 m tall grows yellowish foliage;
- Goldflame - in spring, orange-yellow leaves bloom on shoots up to 80 cm in height, which turn yellow by summer and then become light green, the flowers are red-pink;
- Shirobana - a sprawling bush up to 60-80 cm with small lanceolate leaves by July-August, blossoms with white or pink flowers;
- Crispa - a dwarf shrub with a dense openwork crown covered with small bright pink umbrellas;
- Anthony Vaterrer - a low bush with a domed crown and lanceolate reddish leaves in June-September blooms in large (up to 15 cm) carmine flowers;
- Macrophyll - a large (1.5 m) spreading bush covered with ovoid swollen leaves (red-green in summer and orange in autumn) 15 cm long;
- Magic Carpet - a dense crown up to 0.5 m tall and 80 cm wide dissolves beautiful angular leaves of copper, yellow and orange;
- Frobely - a bush 120 cm high and wide covered with reddish-green leaves and pink flowers;
- Firelight is a dwarf bush with orange-red leaves and deep pink flowers.
Spirea loosestrife. A slender tall plant with erect ribbed shoots prefers highly moist soil. The height of the shoot is 150-200 cm. The branches are covered with narrow lanceolate leaves with a wedge-shaped base. Bright pink buds form dense panicles about 12 cm long. They appear in the middle of summer.
Spirea is gray. A hybrid species with a height of about 180 cm has arched branches covered with lanceolate gray-green foliage. The back of the leaves is gray. The plant blooms profusely with white corymbose inflorescences, which appear already in mid-May. Grafshame variety differs from the main species by reddish-brown branches and even more abundant snow-white flowering. Good honey plant.
Spirea wangutta. A large, sprawling bush quickly grows up to 2 m high. Its drooping strong branches are densely covered with jagged smooth leaf-shaped lobes. The surface of the leaf is dark green. The flip side is gray. By autumn, the leaves become red or orange. Hemispherical snow-white inflorescences open throughout the branch since mid-June.
Nippon Spiraea. A spherical dense bush with horizontal branches grows in height by 2 m. Foliage about 5 cm long has an oval shape and retains a bright green color until leaf fall. In June, yellowish green flowers bloom from purple buds. Variety snowmound is a slowly growing low shrub with oval dark green leaves and many white inflorescences on last year's shoots.
Spirea argument. An early flowering shrub 1.5-2 m high with arched branches forms a beautiful cascade. Snow-white flowers, like foam, flaunt over green leaves.
Spirea bumalda. The bush with a low (50-80 cm), dense crown consists of upright shoots covered with small oval leaves. In the fall, bright green foliage becomes red-yellow and purple. From mid-summer, young shoots are covered with large umbrellas of dark pink flowers.
Spirea Douglas. Straight red-brown stems with a slight pubescence form a crown of 1.5 m in height. Oval or lanceolate leaves 10 cm long grow on them. Dark pink flowers form long pyramidal brushes. They bloom in July-September.
Spirea billard. The bush up to 2 m high is covered with large-lanceolate large leaves and in July spreads long (up to 20 cm), narrow brushes of bright pink flowers.
Birch leaf spirea. A dense spherical bush up to 70 cm tall grows small bright green leaves that turn yellow by autumn. In June-August, white small flowers bloom in small hemispherical inflorescences.
Breeding methods
Spirea can be propagated by seed or vegetatively. For hybrid species and decorative varieties, seed propagation is not suitable. In the spring, prepare boxes with a mixture of leafy land with peat. Seeds are evenly placed on the surface and covered with a peat layer 1 cm high. Shoots appear after 1-1.5 weeks. At an early stage, they are treated with foundationazole or potassium permanganate. After 2-3 months, the grown seedlings are pruned and transplanted into the open ground on a training bed. They are placed in partial shade or shadow. Plants abundantly water and mulch the soil.
The most reliable method of reproduction is rooting layering. In the spring, before the leaves appear, the lower shoot is bent to the soil and fixed, and sprinkled with earth on top. The top is tied to a support. In summer, not only the bush is watered, but also the layering. It will take root in the current year, but the separation and transplant are planned for next spring. For better development, flowers are removed in the first year.
During spring and summer, cuttings about 10 cm long are cut from semi-lignified and green branches. The lower cut is treated with Kornevin and then immediately planted in containers with loose garden soil. After 2-3 months, 50-70% of the cuttings will develop a complete root system. Landing in the open ground is carried out next spring.
Landing and care
For spirea, open, sunny or slightly shaded areas are selected. In partial shade, the number of colors will be much less. The soil should be loose and permeable, with moderate moisture. Soddy or leafy soil, and, if necessary, peat and sand, is added to poor soil. For hybrid species, lime is not allowed in the soil.
Digging pits are dug from a depth of 50 cm. Drainage material must be laid out at the bottom. The root neck is left at the same level. Rainy or cloudy weather is optimal for landing. The procedure itself is carried out in spring and autumn. Spring planting is suitable for plants blooming in summer. It is carried out before the buds open. The overdried root system is pre-soaked in water. After work, 1-2 buckets of water are poured under each bush and the surface is mulched with peat. Also, absolutely all species can be planted in the fall, before the end of leaf fall.
Daily care for spirea is simple. Young plants need more frequent watering, but stagnation of water at the roots is not allowed. Adult spirea tolerate drought well, so only in the absence of rainfall they are watered twice a month. Under each bush, 1.5-2 buckets of water are poured.
Weeding and loosening are also carried out regularly. It is important to remember that the root system of the plant is superficial, so be careful when working.
Twice a season (spring and summer) plants are fed. First, a universal mineral complex is introduced, and then mullein and superphosphate are used.
With age, spirea grows very much and can lose shape. It should be trimmed regularly, as parasites are often wound in a dense crown and a fungus develops. For early flowering plants, pruning is carried out in the summer, at the end of flowering. Late-flowering varieties are pruned in early spring. The haircut is carried out annually, the tips of the shoots are cut and the broken, dry and frozen branches are removed. 3-4 years after planting, 1-2 old branches per year should be removed to a height of 25 cm. This will allow timely rejuvenation of plants and maintain decorativeness. It is not recommended to trim the tips of faded branches, as this stimulates the growth of lateral shoots, and flowers rarely appear on them and in small quantities.
Spirea usually tolerates winter well without shelter. If especially severe, snowless weather is expected, then the roots of the plant are covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves and spruce branches.
The plant has good immunity, so it almost never gets sick. At the same time, aphids and spider mites regularly settle on the bushes. They are particularly active in attacking young, tender shoots. As a prophylaxis, it is recommended to regularly spray the bushes or treat with insecticides.
Landscape design application
Such a decorative and multifunctional plant will certainly find its application in the garden. Dwarf varieties adorn rockeries. They are used to plant deciduous trees and conifers. Spirea is suitable for creating hedges, a mixborder and a background for a flower garden. The company can make up her scumpies, weigels, actions, junipers and spruce.
