Garden designers often use ornamental shrubs such as spirea for their purposes. They are great for hedges and garden zoning. Spirea belongs to the family Rosaceae, and there are at least 90 species. And the queen of these plants is Japanese spirea, the varieties of which will decorate any garden.
Wild japanese spirea, varieties and photos
In the wild, it can be found in the mountainous regions of Japan and China. Growing in natural conditions, this shrub reaches a height of 1.5 meters. He has many thin, curving shoots. And the leaves of spirea are elliptical or ovoid in shape and have a sharp end. During blooming, they acquire a reddish-brown hue. Then they turn green, and in the fall they turn back to golden and reddish colors. And this property of spiraea leaves to fill with colorful flowers was used by breeders. They managed to develop varieties that have a stable bright color of leaves throughout the summer season. Another Japanese spirea is a record holder for the duration of flowering; it blooms from late June to early fall. And her flowers have a reddish-pink color and are collected in corymbose inflorescences with a diameter of 3 to 30 centimeters, depending on the variety.
Japanese Spirea, Golden Princess variety
These shrubs live in a variety of natural conditions. And this circumstance contributed to the fact that nature itself, without the intervention of breeders, created many of its varieties. And then experts only supplemented this assortment. And one of the famous varieties of Japanese spirea is Golden Princesses. This shrub reaches 50 centimeters high and meter wide. It looks like a dense bright yellow mound, and its flowers are light pink in color. They are collected in corymbose inflorescences of small (3-6 centimeters) diameter. The leaves of the Golden Princess when blooming have a reddish color, then they turn yellow and remain golden throughout the season.
Japanese Spirea, Little Princess
Another “princess” from the genus of Japanese spires grows in the form of a compact half-meter bush, the diameter of which reaches 1.2 meters. She has small dark green leaves and pink-red flowers growing in corymbose inflorescences. This variety blooms in the second half of summer and continues to bloom for about 45-50 days. Designers often use this spirea for compositions with conifers and for mixed groups. Fortune's variety is one of the highest. Its bushes reach 1.7 meters. They are straight-growing with strong shoots, inflorescences and leaves of Fortuna are also large. And this spirea blooms from June to August.
Spirea Billard
Well, Billard's spirea is a hybrid of the loosestrife and Douglas. This is a fairly winter-hardy species, which is found in cultural form from Central Asia and the Caucasus in the south to Arkhangelsk in the north. This is a bush with spreading branches, reaching two meters in height. Its leaves are broad-lanceolate, ten centimeters long. And Billard's spirea flowers have a bright pink color. They are collected in dense pyramidal, narrow, paniculate inflorescences up to 20 centimeters long. This spirea blooms in the second half of summer and blooms to frost.