Spiraea is a forest dweller
In bloom, she is as elegant as a bride.
Meets summer in a white dress
And it smells like an intoxicated taste.There are leaves on flexible branches
And tender white flowers
Bent over to the ground under the weight
And all the bees fell in love with her!
In mid-May, spirea began to bloom.
On thin flexible branches, multiple buds formed, collected in inflorescences.
After a few days, the buds blossomed into small, white, very fragrant flowers.
And bumblebees and other insects immediately flew to the blooming spirea.
We brought a small spirea sprout from the forest and planted it in a white flowerbed. Why white? Because when we bought our dacha, there were small bushes of white lilac and viburnum buldenezh growing in the middle of the yard.
I immediately remembered my childhood: white lilacs and buldenezh grew side by side in my grandmother's garden, and lilies of the valley grew beneath their crowns. I loved playing under the blooming lilacs. So I decided to create a white, spring-blooming corner in my garden. I planted lilies of the valley next to the viburnum, and beneath the lilacs, anemones and daisies that I dug up nearby, not far from the dacha.
Several years have passed since then, and my white corner has changed. The lilac has become a large tree, the gorgeous viburnum bush has frozen over, and the flowerbed has been sown with columbine seeds with blue and pink flowers. The anemone has also almost disappeared, giving way to yellow primroses and pasque flowers, and orange lilies and multicolored pansies have taken up residence under the lilac. The tiny spirea sprout has blossomed into a magnificent bush, which delights us with its spring blooms, filling the garden with its fragrance.
What kind of plant is this?
Spiraea is a perennial deciduous shrub in the Rosaceae family, blooming in spring with slender, flexible shoots. Leaf shape and plant height vary depending on the variety. I don't know the variety of my spirea.
The bush is about 1.5 meters tall. In spring and summer, new branches grow taller. I trim them back to the same height as the bush.
The leaves of our spirea are single, green, soft, oblong in shape, and have small serrations at the tops of some leaves.
Inflorescences are corymbs with many small flowers with five white petals, inside the flower are long eyelashes-stamens.
Delicate, snow-white inflorescences are located along the entire length of a thin branch, which, under the weight of the flowers, bends almost to the ground.
A blooming spirea leaves no one indifferent; everyone rushes to take a photo next to our beauty. Spirea blooms for about a month, then the flowers fade and seeds form.
Spirea can be propagated by seeds, cuttings, or layering (by burying the lower branches in soil). You can also divide the bush into several parts.
Spiraea is a hardy plant, surviving even severe frosts without shelter. It doesn't require special care; we water it as needed. We haven't seen any diseases on our spirea. However, it does suffer from pests, such as small, gray-green aphids. An unknown pest also nibbles the tender leaves. This year, aphids covered the tops of the young shoots. We didn't treat them with aphid control products in time, so we had to trim off the tops with their curled leaves and burn them in the stove.
This beautifully flowering shrub grows at our dacha. It's my favorite of the few shrubs we have.