Spiraea bushes are planted on their plots by gardeners and used as urban decoration by landscape designers. Breeders have bred about 90 plant species with different flowering periods. The peculiarity of birch leaf spirea is that the inflorescences bloom in the summer, at a time when most other species have already faded. It attracts attention with the beauty of not only the buds, but also the leaves that change color throughout the season.
Description and characteristics
Birch-leaved spirea is a low-growing deciduous shrub. Its height varies from 50 to 80 centimeters; the crown spreads over the same distance. The plant got its name from its leaf blades, which have the same serrations as birch leaves. They are oval in shape, with a wedge-shaped base, and green in color, with prominent veins.
Spiraea begins to bloom at 3-4 years of age. Inflorescences, consisting of 20-100 flowers, come in cream, white, and pink colors. By autumn, the green leaves turn yellow-red. The plant is frost-resistant, can withstand temperatures down to -35 °C.
Varietal diversity
The following are most popular among gardeners and landscape designers: spirea varieties birch leaf:
- Thor. The height of the bushes reaches 70-100 centimeters. The leaves are dark green, turning yellow in autumn. The light cream inflorescences of the Tor variety bloom in late June and early July.
- Thor Gold. The beauty of this variety lies in its lime-yellow leaves in the summer and purple-violet leaves in the fall. The inflorescences of the Tor Gold variety are white and bloom in mid-summer.
- Iceland. Compared to other varieties, the Iceland variety is taller. Its height can reach 1.5 meters. The crown spreads up to 1.8 meters. Spiraea blooms from mid-June to early August.
- Pink Sparkler. Description and characteristics: the bush is compact, its height reaches 60 centimeters. The peculiarity of the variety is in the inflorescences of a pink palette. The plant blooms until early August.
Note! If you cut off the browned buds in time, the birch leaf spirea will begin a second wave of flowering in the fall.
Subtleties of growing crops
In order for birch leaf spirea to grow decoratively and bloom profusely, you need to plant it correctly.There should be a fairly large distance between the bushes, since they have a spreading crown: between tall varieties - about 1 meter, between short ones - up to 80 centimeters. If plants are planted as a hedge, the distance between them is maintained in the range of 30-50 centimeters.
Landing dates
Birch leaf spirea can be planted in open ground in early spring and autumn. When planting in spring, there should be no signs of vegetation on the bushes. In autumn, spirea is planted from mid-October to mid-November. At the same time, overgrown bushes are planted. Shrubs grown in containers can be planted at any time, but shade them with burlap on hot afternoons.
How and where to plant?
Spiraea birch leaf prefers well-lit places with breathable soil. The brightness of the leaves depends on the level of illumination. Plants are planted in cloudy weather. The substrate is prepared from the following components:
- leaf and turf soil;
- heavy soil is lightened with peat and sand;
- Clay is added to sandy soil.
The root system is inspected before planting: if there are broken or rotten roots, they are removed using a sharp knife. Shoots that are too long are shortened by a third. Planting spirea birch leaf is performed as follows:
- A hole is dug in volume 2 times larger than the root system of the plant. The planting hole should settle a little, so they begin to prepare it 2 weeks before planting the spirea.
- Expanded clay, broken shards, and small stones are placed on the bottom. The drainage layer must be at least 10 centimeters.
- The prepared substrate is poured on top, and a bush is placed in the center of the hole. Next, the soil is poured out so that the root collar is level with the ground.
- The substrate is slightly compacted and watered.
To ensure that the soil retains moisture and prevents weeds from growing, it must be sprinkled with mulch.
Nuances of plant care
Like every plant, Spiraea birch leaf requires at least minimal care, including watering, fertilizing, and pruning to maintain its decorative appearance.
Watering
Newly planted bushes especially need watering: moist soil will allow the plants to quickly strengthen and grow. Subsequently, watering is carried out as needed. It is especially necessary to moisten the soil in dry summers. At least 15 liters of water are spilled under one bush. After watering, the soil is loosened to prevent crust from appearing on it.
Top dressing
Birch leaf spirea begins to be fed the next season after planting. For this purpose, a composition is prepared from the following components:
- 200 grams of mullein;
- 10 liters of water;
- 5 grams of superphosphate.
The first feeding is done after spring pruning, the next - before flowering. For secondary application of fertilizer, a potassium-phosphorus composition is used. You can use ready-made fertilizers for ornamental flowering plants. Rotting mulch also serves as fertilizer for birch leaf spirea.
Important! At the end of summer, the bushes are not fed with nitrogen: it can cause shoots to begin to actively grow that do not have time to ripen by winter.
Trimming
The pruning procedure begins before the plants begin to grow. To do this, young shoots are collected in a bunch and trimmed to the outer buds. Small and weak branches are removed completely. After 4-5 years, all shoots are shortened to a height of 30 centimeters. At the same time, the buds will wake up and begin to grow actively, making the bush more lush.
When the spirea inflorescences turn brown, they need to be removed.Pruning them contributes to the decorative appearance of the bushes, and also does not allow the plants to waste energy on producing fruits that gardeners do not need. To rejuvenate the plantings, all shoots are cut out completely after 10-12 years. If you do not regularly prune, the spirea bushes will turn into untidy thickets.
Possible diseases and pests
Birch leaf spirea rarely gets sick, but if there is too much rainfall during the season, it can become infected with fungal diseases. If rot is detected on the plant, it must be treated with a fungicide. To prevent diseases in early spring, bushes are sprayed with Bordeaux mixture.
Bushes can be overcome by insects such as aphids, rose leaf miner, spider mites, and leaf rollers. They are capable of harming the spirea in a short time, reducing its decorative value. You can determine that the bushes have been attacked by pests by seeing cobwebs on them, premature yellowing and falling leaves. Spraying with insecticides will help save the plantings.
Breeding methods
Birch leaf spirea can be propagated in several ways: cuttings, layering, dividing the bush.
Cuttings
Cuttings are performed as follows:
- In autumn, young woody shoots are cut off, the direction of growth of which is strictly upward.
- All leaves are removed except the top 5, which are cut in half.
- The cuttings are dipped in a solution of a growth stimulator for 10 hours.
- At a slight angle, the shoots are planted in containers in wet sand.
Containers with plantings are dug into the soil in the fall and covered. In the spring, each cutting is planted separately in the ground; in the fall, the grown seedlings are transferred to a prepared permanent place.
By layering
To propagate spirea with layering, you need to pin the lower shoots to the ground in the spring, water them, and sprinkle them with soil. Throughout the season, the places where the cuttings come into contact with the ground are kept moist. For the winter, the layerings are covered. In spring they are separated from the mother plant and planted in a separate place.
Dividing the bush
Birch leaf spirea is propagated by dividing the bush in the fall. For this purpose, plantings that are no more than 3-4 years old are selected, otherwise it will be difficult to dig up a powerful root system. The bush is divided in such a way that each division has a strong root and trunk. Plantings are watered and mulched to protect them from freezing.
Advice! Young plants planted in the fall need to be mulched and covered when frost sets in.
Application in landscape design
Birch leaf spirea is used both in garden plots and in parks, city flower beds, mixborders, and alpine slides. In addition, hedges and high borders are built from it. Spiraea is decorative not only during the flowering period, but also after it. Leaves that are green at first become purple over time. For these qualities, both gardeners and landscape designers love her.
