Spiraea is often thought of as a shrub for tough, sunny spots – a filler. Much like the Japanese Andromeda we wrote about a couple of weeks ago, it has a lot to offer throughout the seasons – more than just eating up garden real estate.

-One of the earliest shrubs to leaf out
-Colorful emerging foliage in spring as seen above; select varieties have season-long chartreuse foliage; bright fall colors in reds, oranges and golds
-Long lasting flower clusters throughout spring
-Deer resistant
-Most varieties are drought tolerant once established
-Very forgiving of hard pruning late winter/early spring

Thanks to Peter and his crew, we are well stocked in both sales yards. Too many varieties to mention here (check out the Spiraea chart on page 64 of our catalog) but a few of our favorites include:

‘Anthony Waterer’ dark blue-green foliage, deep pink flowers; ‘Ogon’ chartreus foliage, white flowers; ‘Magic Carpet’ low-growing, red-tipped foliage with pink flowers