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Spiraea in landscape design is a simple and inexpensive way to decorate any personal plot. There are over 90 species of this plant. Shrubs can form a hedge that will delight the eye with its lush flowering in spring and summer. Depending on the variety of the plant, its height can vary from 30 cm to 2 m.
The use of spirea in landscape design
Spirea for hedges is used to delimit the territory without the effect of isolation, bordering a recreation area or flower garden. For this, curbs and frames are formed from undersized shrubs. Most often, Japanese spirea is used in landscape design.
If the borders are strict, then in mixboders the shrub gives pomp and volume, sets accents, and brings picturesqueness. For decoration in this way, Japanese, gray, Nippon or white-flowered spirea are used. These varieties are perfectly combined with other perennial shrubs due to the lush crown and expressive lines. Especially well they contrast with decorative deciduous and evergreen plants.
Miniature and dwarf varieties are used to decorate alpine slides. They bloom beautifully, have a luxurious crown. Spireas fit perfectly into the landscape, where there are large stones and boulders. Shrubs are visually combined with carpet and perennial plants, giving the composition harmony and airiness.
For rockeries and rock gardens, undersized spireas with dense crowns are chosen.
Plants are used in the design of alleys and groups of shrubs, to create a colorful undergrowth. Lilac, mock orange or viburnum will look more magnificent and brighter surrounded by spirea.
Owners of household plots of a large area can afford to arrange arrays of shrubs. Low and dense varieties of spirea are planted in such a way that a closed continuous coating is obtained. To create arrays, spireas are used that bloom in spring and summer.
Spirea hedge features
A variety of varieties of spirea allows you to form different types of hedges. Shrubs that reach a height of 2 m are used if you need to hide a private area from curious neighbors. With the help of dwarf species, they zone and decorate the site.
Due to the various forms of inflorescences, the plant will give the fence a beautiful shape. By combining different varieties of shrubs, they create a hedge that will delight with lush color from early spring to late autumn.
Even after the plant has faded, the appearance of the hedge will not lose its beauty. The leaves of the shrub turn yellow, purple and orange in autumn.
Spirea will take root well and grow quickly if it is regularly and moderately watered. During the drought period, moisture is applied in small portions during the day.
The soil at the roots is loosened, which will provide access to oxygen. Fertilize the plant in the spring with mineral compounds.
Types and varieties of spirea for hedges
Varieties of fast-growing spirea for hedges differ in size and shape of the bush, flowering period and color of flowers. By combining different types of plants, you can achieve continuous flowering.
Below are the most popular varieties of spirea in landscape design with a photo.
Vangutta
The bushes reach a height of 2 m. The leaves are green in light colors with a transition to beige spots. In autumn it turns orange and red. Vangutta blooms profusely from late spring to early summer. Sometimes blooms again at the end of summer. White small flowers are collected in hemispherical inflorescences.
Oak-leaved
The shrub of this variety of spirea can reach 2 m in height. It has long ribbed shoots, which, under the weight of semicircular inflorescences, beautifully bend towards the ground. The crown is dense and rounded. The plant has white, fairly large flowers. They bloom in early May. The leaves of the shrub are elongated. Perfect for forming a fence from the road.
In Bumal
It has an unusual color of flowers. The bush is relatively low and reaches 1 m. The crown of the plant is dome-shaped. Vertical, slightly hanging shoots. Flowers are collected in corymbs. Carmine petals. Leaves turn bronze red or brick orange in autumn. From the shrub I form small hedges in partial shade.
Spirea gray (ashy)
The top of the pointed leaves of the plant has a gray-green tint. The flowering period of the shrub is May-June. Shoots are long ribbed with a felt edge. Densely dotted with loose voluminous corymbs with snow-white buds. The flowers are large, reach 1 cm in diameter. The buds dot the shoot along the entire length. The plant reaches a height of 2 m. It has sprawling long red-brown branches resembling arches. A gray spirea hedge will add a silvery palette to the landscape, as in the photo below.
Frobeli
Srednerosly shrub reaches a height of 1,5 m. The shoots are powerful erect. Leaves are intense dark green. Inflorescences are pink-purple in color, collected in shields. The variety prefers moderate watering and grows well in full sun. At the end of the season, the bushes are cut by hemping 30 cm from the ground.
Golden princess
It reaches a meter in height. The crown is round with a diameter of 1,3 m. It has oval rich yellow leaves. The flowering period of the shrub is June-July. The flowers are collected in thyroid-shaped inflorescences and have a pink color.
Arguta
The shrub reaches a height of 2 m. Thin shoots bend down. The foliage is small, toothed, bright green. Umbrellas from small flowers. Begins to bloom earlier than other varieties. Used to form long hedges.
Densiflora
Shrub no more than 80 cm high. Used to form low fences. It has green leaves of oval or elliptical shape, turning orange in autumn. The plant is decorated with large corymbs of bright pink flowers. Blooms in June.
Nipponica Snowmound
A tall shrub that, with regular watering, reaches a height of 2 m. It has a spreading crown. Flowering lasts 2 months and begins in June.
Grefsheim
In areas with a harsh climate, frost-resistant species are used, in regions where there is a dry and hot summer, a spirea that tolerates heat well.
Summer flowering varieties
Summer-flowering varieties of spirea, as a rule, have inflorescences of pink and red hues.
- Spirea willow. Shrub from a meter to 2,5 m high. Upright. In early June, it is covered with inflorescences of a light pink hue. The foliage is light, shaped like willow.
- Japanese. The most popular variety of spirea. Shrub low, begins to bloom from mid-summer. Great for forming group plantings and borders. Shirobana is the most spectacular of them. On one shrub there are flowers of red, pink and white shades.
- White-flowered. A bush one and a half meters high is covered with white flowers that exude a pleasant smell.
- Spirea Douglas. Reaches a height of 1,5 m. It has red-brown, drooping shoots with oblong-shaped leaves of a silvery-green hue. The flowers are dark pink, collected in paniculate inflorescences. Blooms in July and continues to bloom until August.
- Billarda. Frost-resistant hybrid up to 2 m high. It has wide leaves and bright pink inflorescences. Blooms in the second half of summer.
Spring flowering varieties
Spirea species that bloom in spring tend to have white or cream-colored inflorescences. The flowering is lush, during this period the bush resembles a white cloud.
- Wangutta. Tall or medium bushes that are adorned with a cascade of white flowers in late May. Spirea of this variety is used to create hedges. The inflorescences are creamy, the leaves are variegated.
- Thunberg. Shrub no more than 1,5 m high. The branches of the plant are covered with graceful leaves, which change color to orange in autumn. From May to June, the bush is decorated with lush white inflorescences.
- Nippon. A low growing spherical shrub. The height of the plant, as a rule, does not exceed a meter. Abundant flowering occurs at the end of May and in June.
- Gorodchaty. Spectacular shrub with a loose crown up to a meter high. They have grayish-green leaves obovate with protruding veins. Yellowish-white flowers are collected in corymbose inflorescences.
- Gray. Up to 2 m high. The shoots are branched, the leaves are gray-green in color, pointed. White flowers are collected in loose thyroid-shaped inflorescences. The flowering period is May-June.
How to form a hedge from spirea
Form a beautiful hedge by planting shrubs in spring or autumn. In the first case, this process is completed before bud break. In the second – in September in rainy weather. The distance between bushes and rows should be at least half a meter. The hole is dug 3 days before planting. A drainage layer of pebbles or broken bricks is laid at the bottom.
In order for a hedge to please the eye for a long time, the shrubs that form it must be properly looked after. They are moderately watered, the soil is loosened, young shoots are regularly trimmed and old, dried branches are removed. The earth is weeded and fertilized. For the winter, the shoots are tied together, bent to the ground and covered with foliage or spruce branches.
In order for the hedge to have a neat appearance, the shrubs are periodically trimmed. Young plants are pruned every year. Once every three years, old branches are cut to a stump. Do this after the shrubs have faded.
Rules for combining spirea and other plants
Spirea is combined with almost any plant. If the shrub acts as the center of the composition, roses, alpine asters, peonies, hybrid daylilies, and Turkish carnations are planted around it.
A classic is the combination of spirea with coniferous crops, combining the plant with evergreen shrubs, dwarf or tall trees. Acts as a transition between tall spruce or pine and the surrounding area. Oriental motifs are created with Japanese pine and juniper. In combination with lilac, viburnum, multi-colored moss and broom, the bush looks more elegant. Combining several types of spirea in a composition, you can get a spectacular hedge that will transform a garden plot, square or park.
Conclusion
Spiraea in landscape design is a great way to decorate a personal plot. A bush hedge will not only please the eye, but also protect against curious neighbors, as well as noise and dust from the road.
