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VAN ESSEN NURSERY CO.
Beautiful and
bulletproof
These spirea selections
combine striking good
looks and an iron
constitution
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Fans of spireas will find many different options
with varying blooms and leaf color. Magic
­
(Spiraea japonica 'Walbuma'
Carpet™ spirea
PP9363, top) is a standout selection, with red new
leaves that transition to gold, and then a russet
color in the fall. The blooms are a rich pink. Pink
Parasols® spirea (S. fritschiana 'Wilma' PP15397,
above) departs from most Korean spireas, which
bloom white. Its blooms are light pink.
and soil conditions.
“Spireas are bullet-proof for homeowners, even those without green
thumbs,” Miller said.
By Elizabeth Petersen
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For carefree color and filler in
landscapes, commercial and residential
designers depend on spirea (Spiraea).
“Put in the right place, it is hard to
go wrong with spirea,” said Landscape
Designer Roger Miller, owner of
Homescaper in Hillsboro, Ore.
In addition to his design business
helping do-it-yourselfers, Miller sources
and delivers plants for other designers
and landscape contractors. “I see spirea
on bid lists all the time,” he said. “It is
used in lots of designs, for good reason.”
Planted en masse, spirea offers a
tremendous variety of foliage color, and
the plants flower like crazy. In addition,
they handle a wide variety of situations
Cold hardy
Spirea is a great option for places
with extreme winters, such as the midwestern states and the Canadian prairies, where few other options for color
are available, said Jas Ghuman, sales
and marketing director for Sidhu & Sons
Nursery Ltd., a wholesale propagator
and nursery in Mission, B.C. “Colorful,
cold hardy nursery stock is in high
demand in places where winter temperatures fall to -30 or -40º C,” Ghuman
said. “The majority of our customers,
almost everyone, orders spirea.”
It is a staple for retailers in the
prairies and desirable in milder climates
25
Picks
from the
Pros
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Beautiful and bulletproof
It isn’t hard to get growers to talk about plants. The
tough part is getting them to narrow down their list
of favorites to just a handful. Here are some of the
varieties our sources recommended:
Ken McVicker
Jas Ghuman
Golden Spire
western red
cedar (Thuja
plicata ‘Daniellow’
PP20267) — A
tight, columnar
pyramid. Fine
textured foliage of
an excellent, bright
gold color. Color
intensifies with sun and heat, and even holds
with winter temperatures. Can be used as a
specimen and in the landscape. Trims well into
hedging. An added bonus? It’s deer resistant.
Zone 5. Matures to 20 feet tall by 5 feet wide.
Fragrant
Mountain™
Himalayan
sweetbox
(Sarcococca
humilis ‘SarSid2’
PP 19951) — This
is an excellent
shade plant,
commonly used
as a low hedge, or mass planting shrub. Its
beautiful fragrance also makes it a great choice
for containers near doorways and walkways.
The leaves are rounder and larger than the
species. The growth habit and appearance is
very similar, with the added bonus of winter
interest. An excellent substitute for Skimmia or
Prunus ‘Otto Luyken’ in hedges, this selection
costs less to maintain, and is more resistant to
yellowing caused by mites. Fragrant Mountain™
bears fragrant white flowers in the wintertime.
The selection does well in partial sun and shade.
Zone 6. Matures to 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide.
Van Essen Nursery
Lebanon, Ore.
Pieris japonica
‘Katsura’ PP15452
— Bright, glossy
leaves with deep,
wine-red new
growth emerging
throughout
summer. Expect
a cascade of pale
white-lilac blooms
in late spring. Good red fall color. Great in patio
containers and deer resistant. Zone 5. Matures to
3 feet tall and wide.
Cupressocyparis
leylandi ‘Relax’ —
Striking, soft, dark
green foliage on a
new compact form
of Leyland cypress
with a uniform
growth habit. Can
also be used as a
container plant.
Drought and heat-tolerant. Zone 6. Matures to
12 feet tall by 4 feet wide.
Hydrangea
paniculata
‘Bombshell’
PPAF — Compact
growth habit with
excellent branching.
Covers itself with
panicles of white
flowers from early
summer until frost.
Low maintenance with little pruning needed.
Was featured in Farwest’s 2010 New Varieties
Showcase! Zone 3. Matures to 30 inches tall by
3–4 feet wide.
Sidhu & Sons Nursery
Mission, B.C.
Fragrant Valley™
Himalayan
sweetbox
(Sarcococca
hookerana humilis
‘SarSid1’ PP 19942)
— Fragrantt Valley
has long, narrow
leaves with exotic,
fragranced winter
blooms which are white with pink tips. It is an
excellent shade plant, commonly used as a low
hedge, or mass planting shrub. Its beautiful
fragrance also makes it a great choice for
containers near doorways and walkways. This
selection has the same low mounding habit as
Sarcococca humilis, but is more vigorous. Zone
6. Matures to 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Both
this selection and Fragrant Mountain™, listed
above, are part of the Himalayan Wonders series,
introduced by Sidhu & Sons Nursery.
Whirlaway™
periwinkle (Vinca
minor ‘VinSid1’) —
This is an excellent
groundcover in
mass plantings,
and it also looks
very attractive
in containers. Its
huge, pinwheelshaped flowers are very abundant and distinctive
looking. New growth is a striking yellow and
matures to a dark green. It grows to 6 inches
tall and 3 inches wide. It takes shade or sun,
tolerates drought and heat, and is adaptable to a
wide variety of soils.
too, she said.
Municipalities commonly install spirea as a low maintenance mass planting
for striking seasonal color. Sidhu & Sons
recently supplied plants for the landscape on a large BC Lower Mainland
area highway project, for instance.
Most species of Spiraea can be
classified in two categories, Ghuman
said. Shrubby, mounding types, which
include S. japonica and S. × bumalda,
produce white, pink and red flowers
clustered at the ends of the branches in
summer and fall.
Bridal wreath types produce clusters of white flowers in spring to early
summer. These, including S. trilobata, S.
× vanhouttei, S. nipponica and S. betulifolia, have a more upright habit and
can be used as an informal hedge.
‘Goldflame’ (S. × bumalda
‘Goldflame’) and ‘Goldmound’ (S.
japonica ‘Goldmound’) are extremely
popular mounding types, Miller said.
They are dramatic in groupings of three
or more, and they stay compact with
little pruning.
‘Anthony Waterer’ (S. × bumalda
‘Anthony Waterer’) has been around
forever, Miller said, but should not be
ignored. It has a “wonderful, more
open habit, about five feet tall and wide
and looks good all year.”
Sidhu & Sons grows “old standby”
spireas including S. japonica ‘Little
Princess,’ S. j. ‘Shirobana’ and S. ×
bumalda ‘Dart’s Red’ that remain consistently popular for both landscape and
retail, Ghuman said.
‘Shirobana’ is a small deciduous
shrub with a unique characteristic:
flower clusters in white, pink and red
appear at the same time on the dense,
mounded plant (2–3 feet).
To add a new spirea to the product
line, it has to exhibit reliable toughness.
“(It needs) survivability in extreme conditions, performance over winter, resistance to disease, and low maintenance
for the end customer,” Ghuman said.
But tough isn’t enough. “Color
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Beautiful and bulletproof
VAN ESSEN NURSERY CO.
Little Princess spirea (Spirea japonica 'Little Princess') is an old standby that remains a favorite for its rosy pink blooms, resistance to disease and rounded
growth habit. It's popular in borders.
is also a major consideration. We are
always looking for varieties with vibrant
colored new growth,” Ghuman said.
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Branded introductions
“We’ve seen improved sales on our
branded introductions,” McVicker said,
“even through the last two years of the
down market.”
As the landscape market improves,
he expects demand for tried and true
varieties of spirea will increase too.
Van Essen grows varieties that “our
markets call for,” and adds new varieties when they exhibit traits that meet
current consumer and landscape design
trends. “We also put a priority on new
varieties that are well marketed to
the consumer, which creates a greater
awareness and demand,” McVicker said.
“Marketing and promotion on plants
like spirea create added value for the
retailer and the opportunity to position
these plants to increase profit margin
with quicker turns and sell through.”
Breeders continue to develop new
cultivars. “Literally, breeders all over the
world from back yard hobbyists to well
known breeders,” are working on foliar
and leaf color improvements, summer
heat tolerance of gold varieties and
reliability and strong performance of
blooming long lasting flowering in the
landscapes, McVicker said.
The Proven Winners® ColorChoice™
line of shrubs offers some recent
introductions that Oregon growers
are enthusiastic about. Jerry Brown
of Fisher Farms thinks that the new
Double Play® Artist (S. j. ‘Galen’ PPAF),
introduced in 2010, has bright prospects. It is “a cool new plant, a winner
30
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Grown in Oregon
“From a retailer perspective, spirea
is an inter-mountain region product,”
said Jerry Brown, marketing director
for Fisher Farms in Gaston, Ore. “It is a
super-cold-hardy flowering shrub that is
easy-to-grow and grows rapidly.”
Van Essen Nursery Co. in Lebanon,
Ore. sells a strong mix of tried and
true and new varieties throughout the
U.S., according to sales manager Ken
McVicker. Spireas are “staples in almost
every garden center and rewholesale
yard across the country,” he said.
Since the plants are so easy to
grow, the consumer is pretty much
guaranteed simple success and good
color. Plants tend to be tough enough
to tolerate abuse, still look good and
flower well. “They are all-around good
plants,” he said.
The market for Oregon-grown spirea has dropped in other parts of the
country in recent years, though. Fisher
Farms, for instance, saw demand for
spirea drop when the housing market
fell off. When the housing market was
strong, rewholesalers in the inter-mountain regions filled orders for mass plant-
ings of the easy care commodity plant.
Big jobs like those have since dried up
and cut into demand for the plants.
“Sales of spirea were down about
a third in 2010 as unit pricing dropped
and competition increased,” Brown said.
Even though demand for big, commercial plantings is down, the same
items are going into garden centers
where they are familiar and popular
with the gardening public. Sales have
rebounded somewhat and are now
“decent,” Brown said, but Fisher Farms
is shifting focus away from spirea and
increasing the production of other new
branded products.
Van Essen sells retail-ready spirea
for garden centers and spirea with
less packaging to rewholesalers. Most
of these are in smaller sizes, from two
to five gallons, but some sevens go
out too. In addition, Van Essen has a
liner division and typically sells 2-inch
liners in the West and 4-inch liners in
other regions.
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Beautiful and bulletproof
VAN ESSEN NURSERY CO.
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The changing seasonal colors
of spirea are one of the plant’s
most appealing aspects.
Snowmound spirea (Spiraea
nipponica 'Snowmound', above)
is widely available and has a
fall foliage color varying from
green to chartreuse. Double
Play® Artist (S. j. ‘Galen’ PPAF,
below) has new foliage with a
rich red color that matures to a
deep green by the summer.
with great potential,” Brown said. “The
sales team was impressed and we are
increasing production 25 percent.”
Artist has a very compact habit (24–
30 inches), rich purple-red new growth,
dark green summer leaves and vibrant
pink flowers. With moderate water and
full sun, it creates excellent mass plantings, contributes to mixed borders and
even fills in as “thrillers” in containers.
McVicker of Van Essen Nursery
likes Double Play® Gold spirea (S. j.
‘Yan’ PP 21615). This neat, compact
plant (16–24 inches) boasts bright golden foliage that contrasts with abundant
pure pink flowers throughout summer.
These newer selections join the
widely used Double Play® Big Bang (S.
j. ‘Tracy’ PPAF) that boasts massive pink
flowers blooming against bright yellow
foliage that glows orange in the spring
(two to three feet). All in the series take
part sun to full sun.
Other new varieties from Van
Essen include Gold Mine, Sundrop and
Superstar. Gold Mine (S. × bumalda
‘Gomizam’ Gold Mine™), a selection
from Lake County Nursery, gets rich
gold foliage that stays bright through
summer and soft pink flowers. A compact shrub 2–3 feet wide and 2 feet tall,
it is ideal as a border or low hedge,
with little or no maintenance.
Part of the First® Editions collection, Sundrop (S. ‘Bailcarol’ Sundrop™)
is a natural hybrid of ‘Goldmound’
and daphne (S. j. ‘Alpina’). It is naturally dwarf with a rounded habit that
requires little or no pruning. The
delicate, golden foliage holds its color
through summer heat, and sprays of
pink flowers arrive in early summer.
At 12–15 inches tall and 2–3 wide,
Sundrop makes a great low border.
Super Star (S. × bumalda ‘Denistar’
PPAF) is a branch sport of ‘Froebelii’
with smaller, more compact form (2–3
feet tall by 3–4 feet wide). Its new
growth starts out scarlet, turns deep
green in summer and bronze in fall.
Deep pink blooms continue all summer.
Ogon spirea (S. thunbergii ‘Ogon’)
flowers very early, in late March and
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early April, before its feathery leaves
unfurl. Clusters of white flowers
decorate the graceful, 5–6 foot, multistemmed shrub. Two-inch, willow-like
leaves emerge golden and change to
bright green during summer, then go
yellow-orange with a delicate red edge
on each leaf in fall.
Magic Carpet™ (S. j. ‘Walbuma’
PP9363) is another standout, Brown
said, among the first to leaf out in
spring, with outstanding foliage and
restrained growth. It forms a low,
spreading mound (18 by 24 inches)
with vibrant new red leaves that mature
to bright gold. Small pink flowers contrast with the foliage, which changes to
rich russet in fall.
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This Double Play® Big Bang spirea (S.j. × 'Tracy' PPAF) is so named because of its large blooms, which
are among the largest offered by any spirea. It grows to a size of 2–3 feet tall and has quickly become a
favorite selection of many designers and gardeners.
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Beautiful and bulletproof
Prune for repeat blooms
Japanese and × bumalda varieties of spirea should be pruned in early
spring, followed with a light pruning
after flowering to encourage repeat
blooming, said Miller, the designer. He
discourages severe pruning of spirea
though.
“Please don’t prune them into
balls,” he said. That takes away from
the beauty of the natural habit.
“Prune for shape if plants are getting rambunctious; better yet, allow
enough space initially for the mature
size of plants so you don’t have to mess
with them,” he advised.
The Pacific Northwest native
Spiraea douglasii is “tremendous for
wildlife, including birds that like to hide
in the twiggy growth and bees, which
appreciate the prolific flowers,” Miller
said. It can spread, though, and its propensity to spreading is a case of the
good with the bad.
Native spirea is great at securing
soil so it doesn’t slip away, but it suckers and spreads in moist soils, Miller
said, so it is important to allow plenty
of room. Spiraea douglasii gets to 7 feet
tall, and makes an informal hedge that
has presence even without leaves.
Unfortunately, some types of spirea have been designated as invasive
in parts of the country. The Southeast
Exotic Pest Plant Council Invasive Plant
Manual lists Japanese spirea.
“It is adapted to disturbed areas
and commonly found along streams
and rivers,” the manual states. “Each
plant produces hundreds of small
seeds that are naturally dispersed by
water and deposited along stream
banks where arboreal competition is
limited. Seeds distributed with fill dirt
establish new populations that may
expand rapidly in the highly disturbed
soil of construction sites.”
Elizabeth Petersen writes for gardeners
and garden businesses, coaches students and writers, and tends a one-acre
garden in West Linn, Ore. She can be
reached at [email protected].
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