Gardening Plant Encyclopedia Shrub Spirea These flowering shrubs are landscape favorites because they don't require much maintenance to look attractive. By Viveka Neveln Viveka Neveln Instagram Viveka Neveln is the Garden Editor at BHG and a degreed horticulturist with broad gardening expertise earned over 3+ decades of practice and study. She has more than 20 years of experience writing and editing for both print and digital media. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on June 23, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Spirea Overview Description This diverse group of flowering shrubs comes in a range of sizes, colors, and forms. Plus they're easy-to-grow plants that are hardy in most regions of the country. Some of the old-fashioned varieties of spirea such as bridal wreath, with its timeless elegance and delicate cascading branches covered in frothy white blooms, have been a landscape favorite for decades. However, these older varieties can take up a lot of space and look best when not pruned. Newer varieties work well in suburban yards where colors and size are important. Genus Name Spiraea Common Name Spirea Plant Type Shrub Light Sun Height 1 to 3 feet Width null to 6 feet Flower Color Pink, White Foliage Color Blue/Green, Chartreuse/Gold Season Features Colorful Fall Foliage, Spring Bloom, Summer Bloom, Winter Interest Zones 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Propagation Layering, Stem Cuttings Problem Solvers Good For Privacy, Slope/Erosion Control Colorful Combinations Spirea japonica is probably the most common member of this group of shrubs. It has a much more manageable size and comes in an assortment of colored foliage and even has a variety of bloom colors. The shape of this spirea is much more dense and short. It forms almost perfectly round mounds that can easily be pruned back to the ground each year to encourage a fresh new spurt of growth. This also helps to prevent them from getting a hollow center, where most of the old growth in the middle of the plant no longer puts out growth and just the tips leaf out. Landscaping How-To: Plant a Hedge The foliage colors are also much more interesting in the spirea japonica group. Some varieties have orange and gold leaves, often with a purple cast to the bottoms of the leaves, which creates a nice multi-color effect. Blooms tend to be a bright, glowing pink that pops against the light gold foliage. Betulifolia spirea has leaves that resemble miniature birch leaves. This is a great multi-season shrub. Its foliage is covered in white flowers in the spring, with an occasional off-season bloom. Then the best show comes in the fall when the foliage glows with fiery colors of autumn; orange, purples, and yellows look as though they are lit from within as the nights cool down. Much like the japonicas, this spirea can also be sheared to keep them looking neat and tidy; this should be done just after the blooms fade. 19 of the Best Trees and Shrubs to Add Fall Color to Your Yard Spirea Care Must-Knows All of the different spireas have fairly similar site requirements. They will ultimately be happiest in full sun with good drainage, but if pushed, they can manage in some shade. They don't need much extra watering once they have become established in your yard (usually after the first year after planting). More Varieties of Spirea 'Anthony Waterer' spirea This variety of Spiraea japonica grows into a 3-foot-tall mound with deep rosy pink flowers in spring. Zones 4-9. 'Little Princess' spirea Lynn Karlin This type of Spiraea japonica forms a dense mound 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Rose pink flowers in spring. Zones 4-9. 'Goldflame' spirea Jerry Pavia Spiraea japonica 'Goldflame' is a small shrub to 2 to 3 feet high, with orange-gold tinted new growth that softens to light green in summer, then copper-orange in fall. It bears pink flowers in early summer. Zones 4-9. 'Snowmound' spirea Julie Maris Semarco Spiraea nipponica 'Snowmound' bears white flowers that almost smother the branches in early summer. It forms a fast-growing, mounding shrub 3 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Zones 4-8. 'Van Houtte' spirea Spirea x vanhouttei 'Van Houtte' forms a vase-shaped shrub to 6 feet tall and wide, bearing white flowers in mid-spring. Zones 4-8. 'Froebel' spirea Peter Krumhardt This Spiraea japonica selection bears bright pink spring flowers and grows 5 feet tall and wide. Zones 4-9. 'Bridal Wreath' spirea Bill Stites Spiraea prunifolia 'Bridal Wreath' bears tiny double white flowers on bare branches early in spring, before the glossy green leaves appear. Some red fall color. Zones 5-9. Garden Plans for Spirea Garden Design for a Deck Illustration by Eric Flynn A garden design featuring easy-to-grow shrubs and perennials enhances this deck and helps it blend into the garden. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit