Spirea is a deciduous decorative shrub of the Pink family. Distribution area - steppes, forest-steppes, semi-deserts, mountain slopes, valleys. Landscape designers select varieties to please flowering from early spring to late autumn. They arrange bushes individually and in groups, on garden paths, along fences, walls, create borders, flowerbeds, rockeries, rocky gardens.
Description of Spirea
Spirea (meadowsweet) - translated from ancient Greek means "bend", has dwarf species up to 15 cm and tall up to 2.5 m. Its branches are erect, creeping, spread out, lying down. Color - light chestnut, dark. The bark exfoliates longitudinally.
Leaf plates sit on petioles alternately, 3-5 lobed, oblong or rounded.
Inflorescences paniculate, spike-like, pyramidal, corymbose. Located throughout the stem, in the upper part - at the ends of the branches. The palette of flowers is snow-white, cream, raspberry, pink.
The root system is represented by subordinate roots, shallow.
Spirea: Japanese, gray, wangutta and other types and varieties
Spiraea about a hundred species, they are divided into spring-flowering - bloom in early spring on the shoots of last season in the second year after planting, the color is mostly white. Also distinguished by the formation of many elevated branches.
Summer blooms form inflorescences at the ends of young shoots, and last year's gradually wither.
Spring blooming
During flowering, spring spirea cover the leaves and branches with flowers.
| View | Description | Leaves | Flowers |
| Wangutta | Bushy, sprawling, spherical up to 2 m, with drooping shoots. | Smooth, small, jagged, dark green, below a gray shade, turn yellow in the fall. | White, melliferous, bloom from umbrella inflorescences. |
| Varieties | Bloom | ||
| Pink Ice. | May, august. | ||
| Oak leaf | Frost-resistant shrub up to 1.5 m, branches omitted. The crown is magnificent, roundish, propagated by roots. | Oblong, with denticles, dark green. Below are gray and yellow in autumn, up to 4.5 cm long. | Small, white, 20 pcs. in inflorescence. |
| Nipponskaya | Low bush in the shape of a ball up to 1 m, branches are brown, horizontal. | Rounded, bright green up to 4.5 cm, do not change color until mid-autumn. | The buds are purple, blooming white with a yellow-green tint. |
| Varieties | Bloom | ||
| May June. | ||
| Gorodchataya | One meter high, the crown is loose. It tolerates low temperatures, drought, partial shade. | Gray-green, obovate with veins. | White, cream collected in corymbose inflorescences. |
| Gray | Fast growing up to 2 m, with branched curved branches. Shoots are felt, pubescent. | Gray-green, pointed. | White, terry. |
| Varieties | Bloom | ||
| Grefshteym. | May. | ||
| Argut | Spreading up to 2 m, thin, curved branches. | Dark green, narrow, serrated up to 4 cm long. | Snow white, fragrant. |
| Tunberg | Reaches 1.5 m, branches are dense, openwork crown. | Thin, narrow. Green in the summer, yellow in the spring and orange in the fall. | Lush, white. |
| Varieties | Bloom | ||
| Fujino Pink. | The middle of May. | ||
Summer blooming
Summer form panicle or cone-shaped inflorescences.
| View | Description | Leaves | Flowers |
| Japanese | Slowly growing, up to 50 cm, with upright free stems, young shoots pubescent. | Elongated, ovoid, veined, dentate. Green, gray below. | White, pink, red, are formed on the tops of shoots. |
| Varieties | Bloom | ||
| June-July or July-August. | ||
| Loosestrife | Up to 1.5-2 m, vertical, smooth branches. Young are yellow and light green, with age they become red-brown. | Gabled up to 10 cm, serrated at the edges. | White, pink. |
| Douglas | It grows to 2 m. Red-brown, erect, pubescent shoots. | Silver-green, lanceolate with dark veins. | Dark pink. |
| Bumalda | Up to 75 cm, upright branches, spherical crown. | Obovate, green in the shade, in the sun: golden, copper, orange. | Pink, raspberry. |
| Varieties | Bloom | ||
| June August. | ||
| Billard | Up to 2 m high, frost-resistant. | Wide, lanceolate. | Bright pink. |
| Varieties | Bloom | ||
| Triumph. | July-October. | ||
| White-flowered | Dwarf, 60 cm - 1.5 m. | Large, green with a red tint, yellow in the fall. | Fluffy, white. |
| Varieties | Bloom | ||
| Macrophile. | July August. | ||
| Birch leaf | Bush up to a meter, crown spherical. | In the form of an ellipse, light green up to 5 cm, turn yellow in autumn. | They bloom from 3-4 years of life in white with pink shades. |
Features of planting spirea
Rainy and cloudy September weather is the optimal time for planting spirea. For cultivation, a site is selected with breathable loose soil with humus content.
It is advisable to choose a place with access to the sun. Composition of the soil: sheet or sod land, sand, peat (2: 1: 1). They dig out a planting hole 2/3 more than a seedling lump and leave it for two days. Lay drainage, for example, from broken brick, to the bottom. The roots are treated with heteroauxin. The plant is placed at 0.5 m. The root neck is left at the soil level.
Landing in spring
In the spring, only summer-flowering plants can be planted until the leaves have blossomed. Flexible specimens with good kidneys are chosen. With overdried roots, they are soaked in water, and overgrown ones are shortened. Lower the seedling, straighten the root, cover it with earth, and ram it. Watered using 10-20 liters of water. Around lay a peat layer of 7 cm.
Planting in autumn
In the autumn, summer and spring species of spirea are planted, before the leaves fall. They pour earth into the center of the landing hole, forming a mound. Place the seedling, level the roots, fall asleep and watered.
Spirea Care
Care for shrubs is easy, regularly water them using 1.5 buckets for every 2 times a month. Loosen the ground, remove weeds.
They are fed with nitrogen and mineral mixtures in spring, in June with minerals and in mid-August with potassium and phosphorus mixtures.
Spirea is resistant to disease. Of pests in dry weather, a spider mite may appear. Leaves on top are white spots, turn yellow and dry. They are treated with acaricides (Acrex, Dinobuton).
Biting inflorescences indicate an aphid invasion, helps infusion of garlic or Pirimore.
Insects: multi-colored miner and rosette leaflet lead to curling and drying of the leaves. Apply Etafos, Actellik.
To prevent the appearance of snails, they treat spiraea before the appearance of leaves with Fitosporin, Fitoverm.
Mr. Dachnik advises: pruning spirea
Without timely pruning, the spirea looks groomed, dry and weak branches prevent the formation of new shoots. To give the bush a decorative look, it is regularly cut. Thanks to this, the plant forms powerful shoots and many inflorescences, transmits more light and air and reduces the risk of attack by pests and diseases.
In early spring, before budding, carry out sanitary pruning. In spirea, frozen, sick, thin, broken, dried branches are cut out. After flowering, spring varieties are immediately trimmed and dry inflorescences are removed. In Japanese spirea, new shoots with bright green leaves are removed.
For early flowering, older than 3-4 years old, they carry out stimulating pruning and cut a quarter of the length in autumn. The plant is optionally given any shape (ball, square, triangle).
Feeding with mineral mixtures after the procedure is recommended.
Summerflowers need stimulating pruning from 3-4 years of life. Remove weak, diseased, old branches to the level of the neck, leaving 2-3 buds with a sharp secateurs in the fall a half month before frost.
In spirea older than 7 years, anti-aging pruning is also performed 2-3 weeks before frosts. All branches are cut to the soil level, leaving 30 cm. In the spring, the bush forms young shoots.
Propagation of Spirea
For propagation by seeds, they are sown in prepared containers with wet sand and peat, sprinkled. They emerge after 1.5 weeks, they are treated with Fundazole, and after 2-3 months they are transplanted to a specially designated bed at partial shade, while shortening the roots. Water abundantly. Flowering is expected only for 3-4 years.
Layers are a more common method of propagation. In the spring, before the leaves appear, the lower shoots are bent to the ground, fixed with a rod, wire, and sprinkled. Water regularly.
Transplanted the next year after the root system is fully formed.
In autumn, cuttings cut at an oblique angle of 15-20 cm are soaked for 12 hours in Epin, then treated with Kornevin and rooted in wet sand. After 3 months, roots form in the greater half, the cuttings are covered with a film, sprayed, aired and provide diffused light. With the onset of spring, transplanted into the open ground.
A bush dug in September, which is 3-4 years old, is placed in a container of water, then it is divided into parts with 2-3 shoots and roots, cut them. They are treated with fungicide and planted as usual.
Wintering Spirea
In cold regions, the plant is insulated for the winter. The earth around the bush is mulched with peat or sand. Branches bend low to the ground, fasten and fall asleep with leaves or vegetable tops. With the advent of snow - they cover it.
