How to grow Japanese spirea

Spiraea japonica · Japanese meadowsweet

Dense, mounded deciduous shrub from Japan and China that covers itself in flat clusters of tiny pink flowers from late spring to midsummer. The species grows 1.2–1.8 m tall; most garden cultivars stay at 0.6–1.2 m.

Japanese spirea — Photo: TheNoob1337, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts

Type	Shrub
Family	Rosaceae
Light	Full sun
Frost	tolerates light frost
Where it grows	Open ground

When to plant

Planted as a young plant from a nursery while it is dormant — in early spring before the buds open, or in autumn after leaf fall.

Care

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Growth	—	—	—
Flowering	—	—	—
Winter rest	—	—	—

Growing notes

Light

Full sun gives the best flowering; it tolerates light shade.

Soil

Tolerates a wide range of well-drained soils; prefers rich, moist loam.

Care

It flowers on new wood, so prune in late winter or early spring. Trimming off faded flower clusters encourages more bloom. It self-seeds and spreads by suckers, and has become invasive in parts of the eastern United States, so remove seedlings and suckers.

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.