(Nippon Spirea, Snowmound Spirea)

A small deciduous shrub from Japan, the Nippon Spirea ‘Snowbound’ covers its branches and leaves so thickly in spring with clusters of small white flowers that it looks as if it is coated with snow. The dark green leaves appear after flowering starts, often with their tips showing through the flower clusters. While young, the shrub is upright and vase-shaped but soon the stems arch and from then on ‘Snowbank’ resembles a fountain.

This cultivar grows and flowers best in full sun but tolerates...

(Bridal Wreath)

Popular in Victorian times and still prized today for its snowy flowers, bridal wreath spirea is a dense arching head-high shrub that was introduced to England from its native Japan in about 1845. It is known in gardens by its double-flowered form, which bears masses of button-like white flowerheads all along its stems in mid-spring just as its small oval glossy green leaves emerge. The handsome foliage turns orange and red in fall. The wiry stems spread via short underground suckers.

This old-fashioned...

(Thunberg's Spirea)

The wispy branches of Thunberg's spirea teem with thousands of tiny white flowers in early spring. A round, mounding deciduous shrub from China, it often has out-spreading stems with arching tips. In early spring, before its narrow, green, willow-like leaves appear, its branches are engulfed by the small five-petaled flowers. Attracting butterflies, bees, and other colorful insects, the flowers last for a couple of weeks. In autumn the leaves typically turn shades of gold, rusty red and orange....

(Thunberg's Spirea)

Thunberg's spirea is a small deciduous shrub from China. The wispy spreading branches of the cultivar 'Ogon' teem with thousands of tiny white flowers in early spring, just before the showy golden yellow leaves appear. Attracting butterflies, bees, and other colorful insects, the flowers last for a couple of weeks. The leaves mature to bright yellow-green in summer before turning shades of gold, rusty red and orange in fall.

This tough, adaptable shrub flowers most prolifically in full sun,...

(Three-lobed Spirea)

One of the parents of Van Houtte spirea, this dense compact deciduous shrub from northern Asia is a worthy ornamental plant in its own right. Arching chest-high stems bear clouds of small white blooms in late spring and early summer. The clustered cup-shaped flowers attract butterflies. Dainty rounded blue-green leaves provide ornamental interest after flowering ends.

This hardy shrub grows and flowers best in full sun but tolerates partial shade. It prefers moist well-drained soil but tolerates...

(Three-lobed Spirea)

One of the parents of Van Houtte spirea and a worthy ornamental plant in its own right, Spiraea trilobata is a dense compact deciduous shrub from northern Asia. The cultivar 'Fairy Queen' is especially compact and floriferous. Arching stems bear clouds of small white blooms in late spring and early summer. The clustered cup-shaped flowers attract butterflies. Dainty rounded blue-green leaves provide ornamental interest after flowering ends.

This hardy shrub grows and flowers best in...

(Vanhoutte Spirea)

A cold-hardy deciduous shrub introduced to gardens in the mid-nineteenth century and still prized by gardeners, this hybrid of Spiraea cantonensis and S. trilobata evokes memories of grandmother when its arching branches are laden with clustered white flowers in late spring and early summer. The dense domed flowerheads attract bees, butterflies, and ants in search of pollen and nectar. A twiggy plant that spreads by root suckers, this medium-sized shrub has small, blue-green, somewhat...

(Vanhoutte Spirea)

A cold-hardy deciduous shrub that evokes memories of grandmother when its arching branches are laden with clustered white flowers in late spring and early summer, Spiraea x vanhouttei is a hybrid of Spiraea cantonensis and S. trilobata. The cultivar 'Renaissance' has all the ornamental charms of this old-fashioned shrub but virtually none of its usual leaf diseases. The dense domed flowerheads attract bees, butterflies, and ants in search of pollen and nectar....

(Vanhoutte Spirea)

A cold-hardy deciduous shrub that evokes memories of grandmother when its arching branches are laden with clustered white flowers in late spring and early summer, Spiraea x vanhouttei is a hybrid of Spiraea cantonensis and S. trilobata. The cultivar 'Snow White' has all the ornamental charms of this old-fashioned shrub but in a more compact, disease-resistant form. This dense, twiggy, shoulder-high plant bears bluish green leaves which are larger and healthier...