Japanese spirea: photos and varieties

Among the most unpretentious and fast-growing shrubs, Japanese spirea cannot but stand out. This attractive ornamental shrub belongs to the Rosaceae family and is popular primarily for its resistance to a variety of growing conditions.

Description of Japanese spirea

As the name suggests, these plants are native to Japan, although they are ubiquitous in China. The name of the plant means "bend" and, indeed, in most varieties of spirea, the shoots are very flexible, branched and grow at different angles. However, there are also varieties of spirea with upright branches.

Natural species of Japanese spirea have an average height of 90 to 150 cm, but, thanks to the work of breeders, completely miniature varieties have been bred, literally 20-30 cm high.

Spirea attracts many gardeners not only with its abundant and long-term flowering. Most varieties have very ornate leaves. Moreover, they begin to dress up from the very moment of blooming, in the spring, when they are painted in various shades of orange, pink and red. In summer, many varieties of spirea turn green leaves, but there are also those whose color remains yellow or golden. And in autumn, foliage appears in all the splendor of warm shades of the rainbow.

Spirea shoots also look very attractive. At a young age, they have tomentose pubescence, and over time they become smooth, but colored in purple-brown shades.

Spirea leaves can have different shapes: from oblong-lanceolate to oval-ovoid. On the edges of the leaves, denticles of various sizes are usually located.

Flowering of one shoot can last about 1.5 months on average. Many varieties are capable of a repeated, albeit not so abundant, wave of flowering. For this, the spireas need only be fed and cut off the wilted inflorescences. Shades of flowers are usually arranged in a pink-red-violet range. And the flowers themselves are complex slightly flattened corymbose inflorescences. The shiny capsules contain seeds, about 2-2.5 mm long, which ripen perfectly in Russian conditions.

Japanese spirea begins to bear fruit when it reaches 4 years of age, and the life expectancy of a bush in one place averages 15-18 years. Growing and caring for Japanese spirea is not particularly difficult.

Due to its unpretentiousness and frost resistance, spirea is actively used to decorate gardens and parks practically throughout Russia from the European part to the Far East and in the north, up to the Polar regions.In especially cold winters, the aboveground well-rooted part of the plants can freeze over, but in summer it has time to grow back and even bloom.

Japanese spirea in garden design

Spirea is a very grateful plant and fits well into almost any landscape composition. It is also very attracted by the fact that from the moment the first leaves appear until the very frost, the decorative effect of the bush practically does not decrease. In spring and autumn, the bushes attract with their bright foliage, and during all summer months they are decorated with delicate, airy smoky or colorful flowers.

In addition, spireas are picky about their neighbors, they feel good in any environment. They are not characterized by aggressive root growth, while they are easy to reproduce. And their good leafiness of shoots allows using spireas to cover higher and bare shoots of other ornamental plants (mock orange, lilac, viburnum).

The smallest varieties of Japanese spirea are often used as single plantings in small rock gardens or to create a dense flowering carpet over vast areas of rocky hills.

Plants of medium height do well in various kinds of flower beds and mixborders, where they are successfully combined even with perennial flowers.

Spireas are surprisingly suitable for framing free-standing conifers and fit well into any composition with conifers.

But they look best in large groups such as hedges or curbs.

Japanese spirea hedge

To create hedges, rather tall varieties of spirea are most suitable, the height of which reaches 80 cm or more: Sparkling Champagne, Frobeli, Fortunnei. Shrubs tolerate regular haircuts well and are overgrown with a lot of greenery. But it should be understood that flowering in the case of regular haircuts will be pushed into the background, and can be expected only next year. Therefore, this technique is suitable for more southern regions, where plants do not freeze over much during the winter period.

Japanese spirea border

But as a border, almost any variety of Japanese spirea is suitable. Bushes with a spherical growth will look especially good. You can arrange garden paths with a border, make a border for the lawn, even carry out some zoning of territories.

You can use one variety of spirea or alternate varieties with different leaf colors. Or even with other suitable plants: action, turf.

Varieties of Japanese spirea

Breeders are actively working on breeding more and more new varieties of Japanese spirea, and the vast majority of them are bred in the countries of near or far abroad. They differ mainly in height, shape of bushes, flowering period, color of leaves and shades in color of flowers.

Spirea Japanese Sparkling Champagne

In recent years, breeding has been developing especially intensively towards obtaining a small, compact plant species. Spirea Sparkling Champagne is an exception. This shrub reaches a height of 100 cm and even higher, and its dense crown can grow up to 150 cm wide. The variety is ideal for creating hedges. It belongs to a very common group of spirits with constantly changing leaf color. In spring, young leaves of plants are painted in a rich burgundy-orange color. By summer, they turn light green, and in the fall they begin to glow with various shades of yellow and red.

Spirea Sparkling Champagne blooms mainly in June-July.

The flowers themselves are pink-white, and the long stamens have red anthers. If the inflorescences are cut off, then the plants may re-bloom closer to autumn.

Frobel

Another rather tall variety of spirea, reaching 1 meter in height. Using the example of a photo of its leaves with shoots, you can clearly see how the shade of their purple color changes from spring to autumn.

This is how young shoots of Frobeli spirea look in the spring with forming inflorescences.

In summer, already from June, the bushes of the Japanese spirea Frobeli are covered with large pink inflorescences up to 12 cm in diameter, and the foliage turns green.

And in the fall, the leaves of this variety of spirea acquire an even more interesting color.

Shoots grow by about 10 cm per year. In addition, this variety is the most resistant to cold weather and undemanding to soil.

Spirea Japanese Jenpay

This variety of Japanese spirea, one of the most interesting in color inflorescences, is also called Shirobana or tricolor spirea.

The height of the shrub is average, 60-80 cm, the shoots are reddish-brown, and the leaves do not change their shade during the growing season, they remain dark green all the time. But the inflorescences differ in a truly original color - they can simultaneously contain flowers of white, pale pink and red shades. The flowering period of plants is slightly pushed back to the second half of summer.

Spirea Japanese Manon

A variety of medium size (60-80 cm) with leaves that change their color three times a year, from reddening through green to rich orange-reddish. The crown is compact, spherical. Spirea variety Manon has a high sensitivity to compacted soils and does not tolerate constant waterlogging. The variety is characterized by drought resistance.

Starting in July, lilac-pink flowers appear on the Manon spirea bushes.

Spirea Japanese Country Red

A variety characterized by green leaves during spring and summer and predominantly upright shoots. Leaves turn yellow and turn red only by autumn. Spirea Country Red does not grow to a height of more than 80 cm.

Flowers of dark pink shades appear in July-August.

Anthony Vaterer

Anthony Vaterer is one of the most impressively beautiful inflorescences of Japanese spirea varieties. The inflorescences can reach 15 cm in diameter and have a bright rich crimson color.

In height, the bushes of this variety usually do not exceed 80 cm (they grow rather slowly), but a spherical crown can be created only by artificial pruning. Since the branches grow mostly straight and are very spread out in different directions.

Spirea Anthony Vaterer is resistant to frost, but the tips of the shoots can freeze slightly. However, the bushes quickly recover, including due to root growth.

The leaves of this spirea are also decorative throughout the warm season, as they traditionally change color from spring to autumn.

Spirea Japanese Double Play

The series of varieties of Double Play spirea includes several varieties at once.

• Double play artist
  
  Quite tall shrubs, reaching 90-100 cm in height and the same size in width. The variety is characterized by highly decorative foliage, which, as usual, changes three times a year, but becomes purple-violet in color by autumn. Bright, dark pink flowers bloom from the beginning of summer and can form until autumn, when the faded inflorescences are removed.
  
• Double play big bang
  
  Spirea variety, which has a unique foliage color, in which there are no green tints. In the spring the leaves are orange, in the summer they are painted in various yellowish shades in order to turn red-orange in the fall. The flowering of these shrubs, which can last from June to August, is no less interesting. The flowers themselves are large, pink in color. Spireas of this variety reach a height of 80 cm with a crown diameter of up to 100 cm.
  
• Double play gold
  Small bushes (50-60 cm) with leaves of the original color, which changes during the season with all shades of yellow. Flowers that appear from the beginning of June are pink and medium in size.
  

Golden Princesses

One of the most popular varieties of Japanese spirea among gardeners, whose leaves on the shoots are not green, but yellow. In the summer, the yellow tint fades slightly and becomes greenish, but in the fall it acquires a pronounced pink color.

It should be cut out as soon as possible so as not to clog the cleanliness of the bush.

The height of the Japanese Golden Princess spirea is about 1 m, it blooms in pink-lilac color.

Spirea Japanese Candlelight

Another notable variety of spirea, which lacks shoots with green leaves. In terms of size, it can already be attributed to the dwarf varieties of the Japanese spirea, since the bushes do not grow above 50 cm.But in width they grow to 50-60 cm.

Young leaves of Candlllight spirea are distinguished by a creamy yellow hue, which turns into bright yellow in summer. Against this background, small pink flowers (up to 8 cm in diameter) that bloom in mid-summer look attractive. In autumn, the leaves take on the traditional orange-red color.

Spirea Japanese Nana

The variety of Japanese spirea Nana is already referred to as dwarf varieties. Bushes no more than 50 cm in height have a dense crown with a diameter of up to 80 cm. Plants are ideal for borders. Leaves traditionally change color from reddish to green and back to orange-red. The flowers also have a reddish pink hue.

Madzhik Karpet

The variety is known under the name Walbuma, was bred in England and got its trade name ("Magic Carpet") for its cushion-shaped dense crown, which endlessly changes the shades of the leaves. In spring they have a copper-red color, in summer they turn bright yellow. But such a shade appears only in bright sunlight; in partial shade, the leaves acquire a rather golden-greenish color. Well, in the fall, a clear bias in a reddish-red color is visible.

Spirea Japanese MagicCarpet grows small, up to 50 cm in height, but it is widely spread along the diameter of the crown. Flowers are small, pink, formed from June to September. Despite its small size, the plants of this variety grow and form quickly.

Spirea Japanese Dwarf

The full name of the variety is Japanese Dwarf, which means "Japanese dwarf" in English. This is one of the smallest and slowest growing varieties of Japanese spirea. It reaches a height of only 30 cm, and every year its shoots grow by only 5 cm. It is characterized by abundant flowering from the beginning of summer. Spirea Japanese Dwarf is a bit like the famous old Little Princess variety. The flowers are also small, pink, but do not fade in the sun.

Initially, green oval-shaped leaves turn orange by autumn.

Planting Japanese spirea

Although Japanese spirea plants are very unpretentious to growing conditions, proper planting in any case will provide the seedling with health for many years and will greatly facilitate caring for it.

Landing dates

Shrubs can be planted both in spring and autumn. But for most regions of Russia, spring planting is still preferable, since a young spirea seedling has a lot of time ahead to successfully take root and grow a good root system. And since the Japanese beauty blooms only in summer, she will have time for planting buds.

However, in the southern regions it is quite possible to plant spirea in the autumn. The main thing is to do this before the onset of frost.

Preparing the soil for Japanese spirea

Plants do not have any special requirements for soil. Of course, in a fertile substrate, the splendor and duration of flowering will increase. In addition, it is better if the acidity is slightly increased. Therefore, if possible, you can add a little peat to the planting pit.

Seedling preparation

In order not to have further problems with the health of spirea plants, and also to know exactly what to expect from them, you should purchase seedlings in garden centers, nurseries or specialized stores.

When buying spirea bushes with open roots, you need to carefully examine them so that they are viable and not dry. Rotten or dry roots are cut with pruning shears to a living place.Before planting, healthy roots are shortened by 20-30 cm and the seedlings are placed in a bucket of water for several hours.

The shoots should be elastic, bend well, and the buds should be alive. But completely blossoming leaves on the shoots are undesirable, since such seedlings take root worse.

Spirea seedlings with a closed root system are either watered abundantly, or they are also placed soaked in moisture in a container of water.

Landing rules

It should be understood that the root system of the spirea is superficial and expands in width for a considerable distance. Therefore, between the bushes, it is necessary to maintain a distance of at least 50 cm when planting.

A hole for planting is dug a little more than the volume of the roots of the seedling, it is desirable to make the walls of it vertical. If possible, it is better to let the dug hole stand for several days before planting. Then it is filled 5-7 cm with any kind of drainage (stones, broken brick) and half with earth from the garden, mixed with peat and sand.

The root system is lowered into the pit, straightened and sprinkled with the remaining soil mixture, lightly tamping. The root collar of the seedling should be directly at the soil level. After planting, the seedling is spilled with 1-2 buckets of water.

How to care for Japanese spirea

Spirea care is simple and does not take much time. By and large, only seedlings in the first or second year after planting require special attention.

Watering and feeding

Regular watering (1-2 times a month) is required only for seedlings in the first year after planting. About 15 liters of water are poured under one bush. In the future, plants are watered only in extremely dry and hot weather, if it does not rain for more than a week in a row.

In the first year after planting, you can feed the seedling with a mullein solution diluted in 10 liters of water. Synthetic fertilizers are applied from the second year of planting, usually after pruning, to give extra strength to the spirea plants.

How and when to trim Japanese spirea

All varieties of Japanese spirea belong to summer-flowering varieties. Therefore, pruning is done most often in the spring. In the first 3 years after planting, exclusively sanitary pruning of the bushes is carried out, removing diseased, dry, frozen and weak branches in May. The first rejuvenating, that is, cardinal, pruning is advised to be carried out no earlier than the fourth year of the seedling's life, when it has time to take root well. In the fourth year in spring, it is recommended to prune Japanese spirea bushes low, at a distance of 30 cm above the ground. Then feed them well. This will give the plant the strength to form a luxurious flowering bush.

In the future, pruning is carried out depending on what is expected from the plants: flowering or creating a hedge or curb. Once every two years, old shoots must be shortened, since flowering occurs only on young shoots of the current season.

Preparing for winter

Only seedlings of the first year of life may need special protection from winter frosts in regions where, simultaneously with severe frosts, a low snow cover is observed. They must be covered with earth and foliage, the lower part must be covered with geotextiles. In the future, all parts of the plants that are under the snow will be reliably protected from frost, and other freezing shoots are removed in the spring, and they quickly grow back again.

Features of growing Japanese spirea in Siberia

Most of the above varieties of spirea are quite adapted to the harsh conditions of Siberia. Indeed, for this shrub, the main thing is that during frosty winters a sufficient amount of snow falls.

Such varieties as are considered especially frost-resistant:

• Alpine;
• Reddish;
• Naked;
• Little Princesses;
• Frobel;
• Firelight.

If in the European part of Russia it is allowed to plant Japanese spirea in partial shade, then planting in Siberia is carried out exclusively in sunny places, where caring for it will not be complicated by other closely located plants.At the same time, they try not to be zealous with watering, especially if the summer is cold and cloudy.

Seedlings are planted exclusively in the spring, so that they have time to take root well before the onset of cold weather.

In regions with the harshest climates, you may even need to insulate spirea bushes for the winter. Usually, the area of ​​the trunk circle is covered with sawdust or humus so that the layer thickness is at least 20 cm. The bushes themselves can be insulated with spruce branches and covered with non-woven material.

Flowering Japanese spirea

Depending on the varietal affiliation, the spirea can bloom either in early June or in early July. The flowering period lasts on average about 50 days. If you cut off the faded inflorescences, then soon new ones will form on the bushes, and flowering can be extended until September. And in the southern regions until October.

How to propagate Japanese spirea

There are 4 main ways of propagation of this shrub: cuttings, layering, seeds and dividing the bush. But for ordinary gardeners, only the first two methods have practical application. The last two are usually reserved for professionals.

Reproduction of Japanese spirea by cuttings

It is easiest to propagate spirea by cuttings, because the percentage of rooting is about 70% even without the use of root formation stimulants. And with them it reaches 100%. Since semi-lignified shoots are best rooted, this process is usually carried out in the fall, in September or October. Having cut out a strong shoot, divide it into several parts with 4-5 leaves on each.

The bottom sheet is removed completely, the rest are shortened by half the length. After soaking the lower cut for 2-3 hours in water, the cuttings are planted in a light substrate at an angle of 45 ° to a depth of 2 cm. They are placed in a shaded place, and for the winter they are thrown with dry leaves and covered with a box. After a year, the cuttings can already be planted in a permanent place.

Reproduction by layering

It is even easier to propagate the Japanese guest using layering. True, in this case it is difficult to obtain a lot of planting material. In the spring, when the shoots grow back, several branches are laid on the ground, sprinkled with soil and fixed with a stone or wire. The tip of the shoot should be visible - a peg is often tied to it. With regular watering of the laid shoots, they take root without problems by the next season.

Seed propagation

It takes a lot of patience to propagate this shrub by seed.

In addition, the seed method is not suitable for all varieties. Some hybrid forms cannot be grown using seeds - they reproduce only vegetatively. Spirea seeds do not need stratification - they can be sown at any time of the year. Usually they are sown on the surface of light soil, without covering, but only covering the boxes with sowing with glass or film. After emergence, the film is removed. And when the sprouts reach a height of 2 cm, they can be dived. A year later, the grown plants are planted in open ground, not forgetting to cover them for the winter.

Reproduction of Japanese spirea by dividing the bush

You can divide spirea bushes in summer or early autumn. In the summer, it is important to choose cloudy or rainy weather for the procedure.

The selected bush is dug in a circle, trying to capture most of the crown projection. Some of the roots, of course, will inevitably be damaged. They are carefully untangled and divided into parts, each of which should have several strong stems and rhizomes. The root cuts are treated with crushed coal and each part is planted in a hole prepared in advance. In sunny weather, the transplanted bushes are watered almost every other day.

Diseases and pests

Japanese spirea bushes usually show high resistance to disease and rarely suffer from pests.In hot and dry weather, spider mites can become active, sometimes young shoots and leaves can suffer from the invasion of aphids or leafworm caterpillars.

They should be dealt with first with folk methods, spraying the bushes with a solution of tobacco dust, or infusions of garlic and tomato tops. In extreme cases, acaricidal preparations are used against ticks, and insecticides are used against aphids and caterpillars.

Conclusion

Spiraea Japanese is easy to care for, unpretentious to growing conditions, very decorative and functional plant. It is not difficult even for a beginner to grow it, and a variety of varieties will help determine the right choice.

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