IDENTIFICATION OF La Spiraea x vanhouttei

Scientific name: Spiraea x vanhouttei

Italian common name: Spirea

Family: Rosaceae

Provenance: Distribuzione prevalentemente eurasiatica. For horticultural use – Origin from hybridization of Spiraea cantoniensis x Spiraea trilobata.

Habit: Ama il clima temperato ed è in grado di resistere al freddo, anche se teme le gelate tardive.

Evergreen or deciduous: Deciduous

PLANT RECOGNITION OF Spiraea x vanhouttei

Height: 130 – 200 cm

Width (extension): 300 – 400 cm

Habit: arched and hanging

Leaf: the leaves are dark green on the upper side and blue-green on the lower side with a crenate shape and little toothing, sometimes tri or five-lobed. in autumn they take on colors ranging from yellow to orange-bronze.

Flower: white, cupped flowers in dense corymbs up to 5 cm wide.

Flowering: May – June

Fruit: the fruits are small capsules, of little relevance.

Perfume: light

NEED

Maintenance: Low

Fertilization: fertilize in early spring with a slow release organic fertilizer to increase flowering.

Exposure to light: sun, partial shade. If grown in the shade, flowering is poor

Soil type: well drained. Limestone Tolerance; Clay Tolerant; Tolerate Pollutants. It also tolerates difficult soils even if in a very bright sunny or semi-shaded position.

Soil acidity: Normal PH

Italian climatic area: it survives between -15 and 37 °C in the Pre-Alps (zone 7), North and Apennines (8), Center (zone 9). It resists the sea, it resists pollution.

Water Need: Watering is generally only necessary in severe drought.

Diseases: very resistant plant, it can rarely be affected by powdery mildew and rust. If pruned too much it can become filled with aphids. scale insects

Pruning: Flowering on the branches of the year, it should be pruned at the end of flowering by removing the older branches and shortening the remaining ones in half.

Propagation: Its propagation can take place by division of the tuft, in autumn or late winter, or by woody cuttings, in autumn and spring.

SPECIAL FEATURES

One of the spiraea most planted by the municipalities due to its easy management, widely used in Eastern European countries as a border hedge.

Annotations

The botanical name of this fascinating genus derives from the Greek ‘spéira’ (rope), because the stems, sometimes twisted, can resemble a thin rope.

Therapeutic use: The spiraea that is cited for therapeutic use is Spirea ulmaria. For all the curiosities about this variety you can consult this site (from https://www.edendeifiori.it/)

In the kitchen: this variety is not used.