I walk by a home featuring a spiraea or bridal wreath shrub on the side facing the street. Its lovely lacy flowers are so delicate; it is no wonder this particular species has been nicknamed “bridal wreath.” I often saw this shrub adorning houses in my hometown of Stillwater, Oklahoma when I was growing up. Apparently different varieties have different color flowers, but the only flowers I have ever seen are white. The wholesome purity of the flowers symbolizing a bride on her wedding day are delightful to behold. During this long siege of the coronavirus, it is refreshing to see this promise of a new beginning. Spring is here, and along with it, the blessed blooms of hope. Let’s learn more about spiraea.
According to Wikipedia, spiraea — sometimes spelled spirea in common names, and commonly known as meadowsweets or steeplebushes — is a genus of about 80 to 100 species of shrubs in the family Rosaceae. They are native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with the greatest diversity in eastern Asia.
The genus formerly included the herbaceous species now segregated into the genera Filipendula and Aruncus; recent genetic evidence has shown that Filipendula is only distantly related to Spiraea, belonging in the subfamily Rosoideae.
Description Spiraea plants are hardy, deciduous-leaved shrubs. The leaves are simple and usually short-stalked, and are arranged in a spiraling, alternate fashion. In most species, the leaves are lanceolate or narrowly oval and about 0.98 to 3.94 inches long. The leaf margins are usually toothed, occasionally cut or lobed, and rarely smooth. Stipules or outgrowths borne on either side — sometimes just one side — of the base of a leafstalk are absent. The many small flowers of Spiraea shrubs are clustered together in inflorescences (groups or clusters of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches), usually in dense panicles (much-branched inflorescences), umbrella-like corymbs (inflorescences with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level) or grape-like clusters. The radial symmetry of each flower is five-fold, with the flowers usually bisexual, rarely unisexual. The flowers have five sepals and five white, pink or reddish petals that are usually longer than the sepals. Each flower has many — 15 to 60 — stamens. The fruit is an aggregate of follicles.
Ecology
Spiraea species are used as food plants by the larvae of many Lepidoptera species, including the brown-tail moth, small emperor moth, grey dager, setaceous Hebrew character and the moth Hypercompe indecisa.
The leaves of S. betulifolia are eaten by blue grouse in spring, and the plant is browsed by deer in summer.
Food Native Americans ate the species Spiraea betulifolia.
Horticulture Many species of Spiraea are used as ornamental plants in temperate climates, particularly for their showy clusters of dense flowers. Some species bloom in the spring, others in midsummer. The following species, hybrids and cultivars are among those found in cultivation:
- S. "Arguta"
- S. betulifolia
- S. canescens
- S. cantoniensis
- S. x cinerea
- S. douglasii
- S. japonica
- S. nipponica
- S. prunifolia
- S. × pseudosalicifolia
- S. salicifolia
- S. 'Snow White'
- S. thunbergii
- S. trichocarpa
- S. × vanhouttei
- S. veitchii
-
Spiraea “Arguta” or bridal wreath and Spiraea x cinerea “Grefsheim” have won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
Traditional medicine
Spiraea contain salicylates. Acetylsalicylic acid or aspirin was first isolated from Filipendula ulmaria, a species at the time classified in the genus Spiraea. The word "aspirin" was coined by adding a- for acetylation to spirin, from the German Spirsäure, a reference to Spiraea.
Native American groups have various medicinal uses for local Spiraea species. S. betulifolia is used for abdominal pain and made into a tea. The Blackfoot use S. splendens root in an enema and to treat venereal conditions.
Other
Native Americans found S. douglasii useful for making brooms and hanging seafood to cook.
Selected species Spiraea alba Spiraea alba — commonly known as meadowsweet, white meadowsweet, narrowleaf meadowsweet, pale bridewort or pipestem is native to the wet soils of the Allegheny Mountains and other portions of eastern North America but is currently endangered in the state of Missouri. It is naturalized in other parts of the world.
Spiraea cantoniensis Spiraea cantoniensis — also known as Reeve's spiraea, Bridalwreath spirea, Double White May, Cape May or May Bush — is a species of plant native to China, belonging to the family Rosaceae. An ornamental plant featured in gardens, it is a shrub growing up to 4.9 feet tall with frothy, pompom-like clusters of snow-white flowers borne along arching branches that bloom in May in its native country, hence its common name.
Spiraea chamaedryfolia Spiraea chamaedryfolia — common name germander meadowsweet or elm-leaved spirea — is a species of plant belonging to the family Rosaceae.
Spiraea douglasii Spiraea douglasii is a species of flowering plant in the rose family native to western North America. Common names include hardhack, hardhack steeplebush, Douglas' spirea, douglasspirea, steeplebush and rose spirea.
Spiraea japonica
Spiraea japonica, Japanese meadowsweet or Japanese spiraea is a plant in the family Rosaceae. Synonyms for the species name are Spiraea bumalda Burv. And Spiraea japonica var. alpine Maxim.
Spiraea latifolia Spiraea latifolia, commonly known as broadleaf meadowsweet, is a shrub in the family Rosaceae. It has often been treated as a variety of Spiraea alba — white or narrowleaf meadowsweet. It is the primary host plant for Hemileuca lucina.
Spiraea nipponica Spiraea nipponica is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, native to the island of Shikoku, Japan. Growing to 4–8 feet tall and broad, it is a deciduous shrub with clusters of small, bowl-shaped white flowers in midsummer. The specific epithet nipponica means "Japanese."
Spiraea prunifolia Spiraea prunifolia, commonly called bridalwreath spirea, is a species of the genus Spiraea, sometimes also spelled Spirea. It flowers mid-spring, around May 5th, and is native to Japan, Korea and China. It is sometimes cultivated as a garden plant elsewhere.
Spiraea splendens Spiraea splendens is a shrub of the rose family Rosaceae native to the western mountains of North America, from California to British Columbia, commonly known as dense-flowered spiraea, rose meadowsweet, rosy spiraea, subalpine spiraea and mountain spiraea. It is commonly found at elevations between 2,000 and 11,000 feet on inland mountain ranges. The plant is adapted to cold, moist, rocky slopes, subalpine forests and meadows. It is a woody shrub rarely reaching a meter in height. It has light green toothed leaves which turn yellow as cold weather approaches. The plant bears fragrant, fuzzy pom-poms of bright rosy pink flowers in the summer. The fruit is a tiny dry pod, no more than one eighth of an inch in length. Native Americans made a tea-like drink from the leaves.
Spiraea thunbergii Spiraea thunbergii, Thunberg spiraea or Thunberg's meadowsweet is a species of flowering plant in the rose family, native to East China and Japan, and widely cultivated elsewhere.
Spiraea tomentosa Spiraea tomentosa — commonly known as steeplebush, meadowsweet, hardhack or eastern hardhack — is a flowering plant native to the eastern United States and Canada.
Spiraea trilobata Spiraea trilobata, known as Asian meadowsweet, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It was first formally named in 1771. Spiraea trilobata is native to Asia. It has occasionally naturalized in the United States.
Spiraea virginiana Spiraea virginiana is a rare species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae known by the common names Virginia meadowsweet and Virginia spiraea. It is native to the southern Applachian Mountains, where it has a distribution scattered across nine states. However, most populations are very small and poor in quality. It is threatened by disturbances in the hydrology of its habitat, introduced species of plants and other threats. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States. This plant is a shrub growing 3–10 feet tall. It is clonal, with several cloned individuals growing in clumps. The leaves are variable in shape and size and may have smooth or toothed edges. The inflorescence is a dense corymb of many cream-white flowers, each flower about 0.6 centimeters wide. The fruit is a follicle. Flowering occurs in June and July. Though the plant produces many flowers, it rarely reproduces sexually and rarely produces seeds. Instead, it reproduces vegetatively by cloning, producing many new sprouts which grow into shrubs. There are fewer than 30 genotypes in total, meaning there are fewer than 30 individual sets of genes; all the other plants are clones of one of the 30 types. This plant is a rare member of the flora in the southern Appalachians. It grows in riparian habitat, such as floodplains and riverbanks. When it was determined to be a threatened species in 1990, there were 24 known occurrences in six states. It could be found at two creeks in Georgia; New River, Little Tennessee River, Nolichucky River and South Toe River in North Carolina; Clear Fork and other rivers in Tennessee; Russell Fork, Pound River, New Rier and Guest River in Virginia; Bluestone River, Buckhannon River, Gauley River and Meadow River in West Virginia; Rockcastle River and other creeks in Kentucky; and other rivers. Besides these populations there are occasional occurrences along rivers and creeks. It is also known from Alabama and Ohio. It is thought to have been extirpated from the state of Pennsylvania, due to the changes to the Youghiogheny River or the "Yough" caused by damming.
This shrub grows in cracks in rocks alongside flowing water. It has a fibrous mass of roots and lateral rhizomes that anchor it, and even if most of the plant is ripped away during flooding, it easily resprouts from remnants of the rhizomes. It is often found growing in sandstone bedrock, gravel bars, nooks between boulders and in riverborne deposits of debris, rubble and silt. It is adapted to periodic flooding, scouring, erosion and deposition of litter. Other plants in the habitat may include hazel alder, silky dogwood, jewelweed, creepers, ninebark, sycamore, blackberries, willow, American elderberry, soapworts, greenbrier, goldenrod and poison ivy. The plant is threatened by its small numbers, alterations in the hydrology of its riparian habitat and habitat fragmentation. Populations are isolated from one another, reducing the frequency of its rare sexual reproduction even further. Populations are small; though the plant is adapted to a regime of flooding, unusually large floods have the potential to wipe out small populations. The invasion of introduced plant species, including the shrub's relative, Spiraea japonica or Japanese spiraea, may be a threat because of competition.
According to Anne Balogh’s article “Spirea Superstars” at gardendesign.com, spirea (or spiraea) has joined the ranks as one of the most popular flowering shrubs for the home garden. Their long-lasting blooms and ability to serve a variety of landscape functions — from mass plantings and perennial borders to groundcovers and informal hedges — have made them a staple in gardens of all sizes.
How to plant spirea Plant in the spring or fall. Make sure you have chosen a site that drains well and receives at least six hours of sun each day. Dig a hole that is twice as wide as the container and just as deep. Remove the plant from its container and gently loosen any tightly wound roots. Place the plant in the hole and backfill with the excavated soil. Water thoroughly to settle the soil. Cover with a 2-3” layer of mulch, keeping it away from the stems. Space spirea plants 2 to 15 feet apart, depending on the expected mature width of the plant and the application. To create dense, full spirea hedges, you can space your plants more closely together as long as you give them some elbow room.
Spirea care Spireas are not heavy feeders, so they’ll do fine with an application of controlled-release fertilizer in early spring, which should provide enough sustenance for the entire growing season.
Keep newly planted spireas well-watered until they become established. Mature spireas are drought-tolerant and only need watering when the soil becomes dry. Spireas don’t like wet feet, so avoid oversaturating the soil.
Don’t hesitate to give spireas a liberal pruning, if needed, to maintain their shape and to remove dead or broken branches. This is best done in late winter or early spring while the plants are dormant. Giving spireas another lighter pruning after they bloom in spring or early summer will promote new blooms and reinvigorate foliage growth. Because spireas are fast growers, they will recover quickly.
Spirea generally aren't bothered by any serious pest or disease problems. However, they are related to roses and can be susceptible to the same pests and diseases as roses, such as leaf spot, powdery mildew and aphids.
Spirea landscaping tips
- Low-growing mounded varieties work nicely in smaller gardens and can be used to form shrub borders, groundcovers, low hedges along pathways and fillers in the perennial garden.
- Spireas are also attractive additions to butterfly and cottage gardens.
- Dwarf varieties can be grown in containers on a patio or balcony.
- Mix in landscape beds with other flowering shrubs like abelia and weigela.
Commenti