General Description | Spiraea betulifolia is a medium sized, dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub that has light green-yellow foliage with pure white flowers. |
ID Characteristic | This shrub features rounded oval shaped leaves with bright yellow-green foliage. Flower buds with hints of red will flower into flattened clusters of 5-petaled white flowers. |
Landscape | Wonderful accent plant or used in mass planting, shrub borders and rock gardens.
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Propagation | The main method of propagation is softwood cuttings. Subsequently, seeding, layering, and division are alternate methods. Softwood cutting in early summer. Pruning should be done in late winter/early spring once the threat of intense cold temperatures passes. Propagation by seed- collect in autumn, sow the seed in autumn and at a preferred temperature of 20°C. |
Cultivation | Grow preferably in moist, well drained soils. Tolerates partial shade. Remove faded flower clusters to encourage additional bloom. It is highly tolerant of urban runoff pollution and could succeed and flourish in even city environments.
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Pests | This shrub is generally pest and disease free. However rare, it can be susceptible to pests and diseases like root rot, leaf spot, leaf roller and scale. Deer resistant. |
Habitat | Horticultural origin. |
Bark/Stem Description | Smooth red-brown and is not particularly showy. New growth will appear with a slightly deeper red tint but the change is not notable. |
Flower/Leaf Bud Description | Small buds will appear at the end of branches, brown-red in colour with no scales present and blooms in mid summer. |
Leaf Description | Has a pinnately simple toothed leaf arrangement with ovate to elliptical shape. Mature growth foliage measures from 3-4 cm in length. Blooms in spring. Retains its bright yellow foliage into the summer months, turning an amazing array of orange, red, and purple.
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Flower Description | Dense showy perfect clusters of pure white flowers, emerging in mid June. 5-pettaled and a corymbs flower arrangement, very fragrant to pollinators and butterflies. There is no peduncle, the stamen is longer in relation to the length of petals and the anther is a yellow-white.
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Colour Description | The foliage of this shrub emerges into a stunning yellow colour in spring and stays yellow until flowers mature and start to fade in mid-summer. At which point the leaves begin to change into a green-yellow, leading into autumn which alters the foliage to an eye catching array of orange, red and even purple. |
Texture Description | This is a Medium textured plant. It is unique from other smaller shrubs with its less defined foliage. |