This week’s superstar that seems to have benefitted from the February freeze is the heirloom shrub known as bridalwreath spirea (Spiraea prunifolia). Many people just call it spirea, and I dare say an equal amount just call it bridlewreath.
In recent weeks, many plants have finally started emerging from the freeze, and some – like the spireas in Houston - are really showing off, proving that they can handle any type of freeze. In this area, they are smothered in double white flowers along their cascading, wiry branches. Now is also the time when you see just how dark green spirea leaves are.
I love that, when the flowers come out in February and March, they usually look stunning with azaleas. For many years, savvy Houston landscapers used those plants together, but I’m not sure why that trend has waned over the past 10 years. Thanks to its ability to bounce back, though, that may be about to change.
If there’s one downside to the spirea, it’s the need to prune and feed it consistently. Think about azalea care and apply that practice to the spirea. In other words, this is not a no-care type of plant. As with azaleas, they should be pruned right after their early spring bloom. And they need a couple of feedings with azalea food, spread out over two months.
You can use it as a hedge row, but I believe the best-looking spirea are usually on the corners of landscape beds. And they are seen often on their own, looking good placed randomly and independently throughout landscapes.
They like sun in the morning and shade in late afternoon. If in filtered light all day, they’ll also perform well. And while they will grow in more shady landscapes, they will tend to be thinner and leggier. They’ll get maybe 6 or 7 feet tall at maturity, but their spread of 5-6 feet is what really helps them look so attractive.
PHOTOS: Randy Lemmon