Japanese spirea (90 photos): types and care

The decorative properties of Japanese spirea with its variety allow you to complement any style of landscape design with these bushes. The name of the plant in translation from Greek means “spiral” – its branches, in most cases, gracefully bend, forming fluffy forms. Low-growing varieties often adorn artificial alpine slides and rockeries, individual specimens complement ensembles with flowering barberries, hydrangeas or conifers. Next, we will find out which species of this glorious culture are most often planted by site owners, how to care for and propagate the plant..

The main types of Japanese spirea

All the natural diversity of Japanese spirea shrubs has about a hundred species and many varieties that amaze the imagination with their beauty. Each of them differs in height, shape, color of foliage and buds. Distinguish between spring flowering crops and summer flowering. The first ones release a lush white color in May (Wangutta spirea, Nipponskaya). Shrubs, the flowering period of which occurs in the summer, are more often represented in a pink color palette (Shirobana, Little Princesses, etc.). Consider the main species that gardeners prefer to grow on their farm.

Golden Princesses

This species belongs to dwarf shrubs, since its height does not exceed half a meter. It has excellent appearance due to its bright yellow pointed leaves and pink flowers. Its peculiarity lies in the ability of foliage to change shades at different times of the year, acquiring soft, warm or completely cold tones..

Little Princesses

The plant often acts as a hedge in home gardens. Its low bushes of a compact rounded shape attract attention with dark green foliage, against which pale pink flowers dazzle. This variety is considered one of the most beautiful – even one of its copies will become a real decoration of the garden..

Gold Flame

The culture is a fairly powerful, fast-growing shrub up to 1 m high. In addition to summer cottages, it perfectly takes root in the city. Not whimsical to climatic conditions. The leaves change color from early spring to late summer – at first they are red-orange in color, with the beginning of flowering they become deep yellow, and by autumn they acquire a contrasting orange hue.

Spirea Shiroban

This is a truly amazing shrub. During flowering, he dresses in variegated colors, since his flowers have different shades – from light pink to purple. Heart-shaped inflorescences, which can often be found here, give a special originality. Sizes of a rounded shrub: in height – 80 cm, in diameter up to 1 m.

Spirea Crispus

Another worthy decoration of the garden will be a graceful spherical shrub of Crispus spirea. It has a very expressive mauve color and original serrated leaves..

Spirea Wangutta

A luxurious shrub can grow up to 2 m high, making up an excellent ensemble with conifers on the site. It has a spreading, stepped crown shape, due to which it is often planted to create shade, for example, near a reservoir. The bush is of interest to gardeners also by the fact that it can bloom twice a season – at the beginning of summer and at the end, covered with luxurious white flowers.

Proper care of Japanese spirea

Caring for Japanese spirea is not difficult – it is unpretentious and hardy, it takes root well in various climatic conditions. What she really needs is trimming, in the process of which she takes on a beautiful shape. The bush looks great in the form of a ball, pyramid, triangle and other shapes at the discretion of the owner of the site and the general concept of landscape design. To achieve a particularly beautiful lush flowering and growth of culture, it is necessary to adhere to some recommendations.

Lighting

The culture is quite light-requiring, and the best place to plant it is on the sunny side. Being in the shade, it will also feel good, but the flowering will lose its abundance at the same time. To show off lush growth and abundant flowering, the plant should be 3-4 hours a day in direct sunlight.

Temperature

Spirea grows in a wide temperature range. It perfectly withstands winter frosts and summer heat. Even if the bush freezes to the snow cover, lush shoots will quickly grow again in the spring..

Humidity

Japanese spirea is a drought-resistant plant. In nature, it can easily endure the absence of rain for a long period of time. The same owners who want to achieve the exceptional beauty of their ward should make additional soil moisture in dry weather. Mulching the soil around the shrub helps a lot, allowing you to retain moisture for a long period of time..

Does not scare culture and waterlogging. Often, some varieties decorate the banks of artificial reservoirs in areas, creating an elegant shade net.

Watering

Although the culture is not among those that require a special irrigation system, there are still some recommendations to improve the conditions of its life. If the plant was planted in the spring, its root system is not yet strong enough, therefore, regular moistening of the soil is necessary. In the summer, flowering varieties need abundant watering – twice a week, each bush is entitled to at least 15 liters of water. Also, young plants planted by cuttings need special additional care – they are watered up to 4 times a day..

Fertilizers and feeding

It is recommended to annually embed mulch from crushed bark, peat or compost into the soil base of Japanese spirea. It is also necessary to additionally feed the culture with mineral and organic fertilizers, which are introduced alternately.

Organic ones are formed from poultry manure or manure. The component must be mixed with a small amount of water and let it brew for 10 days, then dilute the resulting concentrate with 10 liters of water. Such fertilizers are applied after pruning the bush. Before that, you need to loosen the soil well and water it abundantly. Only after a few hours a fertilizing infusion is added to the soil. A compact bush will take about half a bucket, and a large one – up to 3 buckets.

Mineral compositions are applied before the flowering of the bush. These complex mixtures must be introduced into the soil at the rate of 80–100 g per 1 m2. The area is calculated by the diameter of the crown of the shrub.

In the middle of summer, you can add additional superphosphate together with mullein solution at the rate of 10 g of superphosphate per 10 liters of infusion.

Pests and diseases

Japanese spirea is quite resistant to disease, which is one of its advantages. Still, there are certain threats. Danger can be represented by such ailments as:

– Gray mold, showing an unaesthetic bloom. Most often, this fungal infection is a consequence of excess moisture and is activated in damp weather. Treatment is carried out with fungicidal preparations;

– Spotting is also a fungus, which is fought with the help of “Fundazol” or Bordeaux mixture.

The most dangerous pests for the culture are the rose leaflet, which literally gnaws at greens, aphids sucking juice from young shoots, and a spider mite, which forms holes in the inflorescences and damages the foliage. In the fight against pests, it is necessary to provide the plant with high-quality care: loosening the soil, moisture, timely feeding. To get rid of aphids and leaflets will help the drug “Pirimor”, which gives an almost 100% result, and the mite is eliminated with the help of “Karbofos” or “Akreksa”.

How to transplant Japanese spirea

Transplantation of Japanese spirea is carried out in the autumn, when the foliage begins to change color. It is better to carry out the procedure on a cloudy day. The first thing to do with the transplanted bush is to dig up and cut off all dried parts, old branches, skeletal branches to a bud on the shoot.

For a new “place of residence” a hole is dug, the dimensions of which depend on the size of the root system of the bush (usually 50×50 cm). Moreover, it is advisable to do this in advance so that the pit has time to dry out and ventilate. The bush is planted and sprinkled with a soil mixture with the addition of sand, earth, peat in a ratio of 1: 2: 1. The ground is trampled down and mulched. Spirea, transplanted in September-October, will have time to get stronger by the onset of severe frosts.

Reproduction at home

Japanese spirea can simply be propagated by dividing a mature bush, carefully cutting off a part from the root and transplanting it into new soil. There are also three more ways – by seeds, layering and cuttings. With the help of seeds, it is not always possible to grow the desired species while maintaining all varietal qualities – this is suitable for species that are not hybrid. But sowing allows you to get not one or several representatives of the spirea, but many at once.

Reproduction of Japanese spirea seeds

Seeds are sown in spring using boxes of leafy soil. From above, the soil must be mulched with peat. The first shoots appear in 10 days, and after three months a strong seedling will form, which can be safely transplanted into open ground.

Reproduction of Japanese spirea by layering

This process must be started in early spring, before the first leaves have blossomed on the bush. The lowest branches of the shrub must be tilted and pressed to the ground, pinned, for example, using wire, and sprinkled. The fixation points must be watered regularly. By the fall, new bushes are formed here..

Reproduction of Japanese spirea by cuttings

This method is applied at the end of June. A straight shoot must be divided into several parts, each of which is planted in an environment of peat and river sand, taken in the same volume. It is important to take into account that with such a planting, high humidity is necessary, therefore, irrigation must be carried out at least four times a day, as well as spraying. On the eve of the winter period, young cuttings should be sprinkled with leaves, and in the spring – transplanted to a permanent place.

Japanese spirea – photo

We offer you to get acquainted with the bright colors and shapes of various types of Japanese spirea in our photo gallery. Collected here are some of the best images of the plant’s stunning aesthetic, as well as examples of how shrubs of different sizes and shapes can be used in different types of plantings. After reviewing the photo, you can easily arrange your luxurious landscape design.