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Spirea (Latin Spiraea) is a genus of perennial ornamental shrubs of the Pink family. There are about 100 species growing in the steppes and semi-deserts of the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere and in East Asia. It is grown in almost all regions of Russia where there is gardening. The official name of the variety is Vangutta; in everyday life, the shrub acquired the name Spirea Bride due to its resemblance to a lush, airy wedding dress. The plant is attractively spectacular in appearance, endurance, unpretentiousness and durability. It blooms profusely, is a honey plant. Spirea Bride was bred by crossing the varieties of Cantonese and three-lobed spirea, cultivated since 1868.
Description of the Bride shrub
Spirea White Bride is a deciduous monoecious shrub that grows up to 2 m in height. The branches of the plant are purple in youth, later - dark brown, long, climbing, drooping. Densely covered with leaves - narrow oval, shortly pointed, with serrated edges, 3-5-lobed, smooth, on petioles 7-8 cm long. In spring and summer, the foliage is dark green on the outside and bluish on the inside, in autumn it turns orange-red.
Spirea flowers White Bride are white, red in buds, with 5 wide rounded petals, bisexual, 60-80 mm in diameter. Form numerous hemispherical inflorescences, densely located along the entire length of the branches. The plant blooms for 3 weeks from mid-June, again in August. The decorative fruits of the spirea Bride are purple leaflets; in the southern regions they ripen at the end of July, in the middle lane - in September-October.
Spirea White Bride in landscape design
For novice gardeners who have not seen the Bride spirea before, just look at the photo and read the description to immediately fall in love with it. The shrub is used in a single planting, to create landscape compositions, design hedges and the banks of reservoirs. The combination of spirea White Bride and conifers is considered traditional. A composition of several varieties looks impressive against the background of a lawn. Designers love to plant Wangutta separately so that nothing overshadows her beauty. The plant is resistant to soil and air pollution, which makes it possible to use it in urban greening, to plant it in industrial zones. The White Bride bush can be cut into any shape, but in this case it will not bloom.
Planting and caring for spirea White Bride
Spirea White Bride is planted in the spring, after warm weather sets in, and in the fall, before the leaves fall. Prefers light, fertile, well-drained soils with a pH level not higher than 7. In this case, leaving will be the least troublesome - watering, feeding, pruning. Soil of a different composition for planting spirea The bride should be stabilized:
- add sand, wood ash to dense heavy soils;
- add humus, peat, complex fertilizers to depleted, nutrient-poor sandstones;
- high acidity is reduced by adding lime, ash, dolomite flour.
For harmonious development and high-quality, abundant flowering, the plant needs good lighting throughout the day. The site for planting should be chosen sunny, with deep groundwater.
Trees with a spreading wide crown are an undesirable neighbor for the White Bride. They will create excessive shading, and their branched root system will interfere with the development of spirea roots. A more favorable combination with low-growing conifers - juniper, thuja, cypress.
Preparation of planting material and site
Spirea The bride is undemanding to the soil, but it grows better in sandy loam and loamy areas where moisture does not stagnate. For planting, you should choose a healthy, young, compact plant with unblown buds. When purchasing a White Bride sapling, you need to pay attention to its condition, a copy will take root well, which has:
- the roots are elastic, moist, well developed, without damage or blackening on the cut and with a large number of branches;
- branches are flexible, with green bark without spots and cracks, healthy buds.
Before planting, the roots of the plant are recommended to be treated with a fungicide and soaked for a day in a solution of any root formation stimulant - Kornesil, Kornevin, Zircon.
Planting spirea White Bride
The landing pit for the spirea The bride should be spacious enough, the optimal size is 50x50 cm. A drainage layer of 15-20 cm is laid out on the bottom of small stones, chipped tiles, broken brick. The soil taken out when digging a hole is mixed with soddy-leaf soil and peat. At the bottom, a mound is formed, on which the seedling is installed, evenly spreading the roots (if the plant is planted with a lump of earth, this stage will not need to be performed). 1-2 buckets of water are poured into the pit and covered with the remaining soil mixture to the top. The root collar of the plant should not be buried; it should be flush with the ground surface or slightly rise. It is recommended to cover the near-trunk zone of the spirea. The Bride is recommended to cover it with a layer of mulch, which will prevent moisture evaporation and provide additional nutrition. In favorable conditions and with proper care, the bush will bloom in the 3rd year. Amateur gardeners proudly post photos of the Bride spirea on social networks, willingly share their experience in planting and caring.
Watering and feeding
White-flowered spirea The bride tolerates heat well, but needs regular watering. The amount and frequency of irrigation depends on climatic conditions; the soil should be slightly damp all the time. Watering is best done in the evening. The soil must be loosened in a timely manner - make sure that the earth is not covered with a crust.
The plant should be fed 1-2 times per season, mineral complexes are preferred. In the spring of spirea, the Bride will well accept the application of nitrogen under the root and mulching with rotted manure, this will ensure good growth and abundant flowering.
In the fall, you need to limit yourself to phosphorus-potassium fertilizing in order to give the plant enough energy for wintering and not provoke the growth of new shoots. For this reason, nitrogen and manure have not been applied since late summer.
Pruning
Spiraea White Bride is characterized by great growth force, is repeatedly pruned throughout her life. Gardeners adhere to the following system:
- April-May - shortening of shoots. In the first years by no more than a third, from 5 years - by half.
- Every spring, damaged parts of the plant are cut out to a healthy bud.
- Every 7 years - a rejuvenating procedure, all branches are shortened to 25-30 cm.
- A year later, in the fall, weak and thickening shoots are removed.
- The old spirea bush is cut almost to the root, leaving a small stump with 2-3 buds. Subsequently, the young shoots are thinned out, several strong shoots are left.
When pruning the White Bride spirea in spring, it should be remembered that flowers are formed on last year's shoots, they need to be protected, in the fall you can cut out all the branches that the gardener deems necessary for rejuvenation, healing and the formation of a bush. Each plant should have more young branches than old ones.
Preparing for winter
With the onset of autumn, the spirea is cut off, the Bride is cut off, the soil is loosened, fertilizers are applied under the root (except for nitrogen and manure), and watered abundantly. It is important not to be late with pruning, otherwise the plant will not have time to recover before the cold weather.
Spirea White Bride is considered a frost-resistant plant, capable of withstanding temperatures up to ̶ 40 ˚С. An important condition is the presence of a reliable snow cover, in winter it is enough to scoop it up to the bush. Not relying on nature, gardeners try to help the plant (especially the young one) - they mulch the soil with straw, peat, leaves of fruit trees. The thickness of the coating depends on the region, it can reach 20-25 cm. In anticipation of a harsh winter, all spire shoots of the Bride are collected in a bunch, bent to the ground, fixed, then covered with natural or artificial material. If in winter some parts of the plant have undergone frostbite, they must be removed in spring, the bush will quickly recover and grow.
Reproduction of the spirea bush Bride
Spirea Bride propagates by seeds, cuttings (green and lily), layering and dividing the bush. In June, young shoots are cut out at the base, the bark at the cut site is slightly wounded for faster root formation and is stuck into the ground to the first leaves. Water a little every day.
The White Bride is propagated by layering in the spring, after bud break. Young healthy shoots are pinned to the ground, sprinkled with earth, and regularly moisten the soil. By the fall, they will take root and will be ready for planting in a permanent place.
The division of the White Bride bush is carried out in early spring or autumn, separating the desired part with a sharp shovel. Often, gardeners dig up the whole plant and divide its root into parts so that each segment has 3-4 shoots. You need to act carefully so as not to injure the processes.
Reproduction by seeds is not used for reproduction of the White Bride spirea, plants grown by this method do not retain the characteristics of the variety.
Diseases and pests
Spirea Bride is little susceptible to diseases and attack by pests, it has a high phytoncidal activity, is able to protect itself and the plants nearby. The defeat occurs in case of weakening of the immune system. In wet, cloudy weather, there is a high risk of fungal infections, which can be easily treated by processing with Bordeaux mixture and removing the affected parts of the plant. Of insects for the spirea Bride, aphids, blue sawflies, kidney gall midges, spider mites are dangerous. The most effective in the fight against them "Fosfamid", "Fitoverm", "Karbofos", a combination of granular "Pyrimor" and "Bitobaxicillin". The Bride is saved from snails and slugs by mulch around the trunk.
Conclusion
Spirea Bride is an unusually beautiful and spectacular plant that invariably attracts the eye. Gardeners rank it in the category "self-grows" for undemanding conditions and care. The shrub is a long-liver - it can reach 40 years of age, being the main decoration of the garden. In the landscape, it is in harmony with another Bride - the Densiflora spirea, ensuring continuous flowering from early summer to mid-autumn.
