Plant DetailShow Menu

Japanese Spiraea Spiraea japonica

Other plants called Japanese Spiraea:

Phonetic Spelling
spy-REE-ah juh-PON-ih-kuh
This plant is an invasive species in North Carolina
Description

This plant is problematic and alternatives should be considered. 

Japanese Spiraea is a flowering dwarf deciduous shrub with leaves that change color over the season, growing 4 to 6 feet high and as many feet wide. The plant is drought tolerant and has an upright, low and broadly mounded form creating a dense thicket of thin wiry stems. Japanese Spiraea blooms in early summer with pink flowers that attract butterflies and is often the last of the common spiraeas to bloom in a calendar year. 

The plant prefers rich loam but grows in a range of soil types (including clay) in average, medium moisture, good drainage, and full sun. It will not do well in wet, poorly drained, soil. It tolerates light shade. Japanese Spiraea can be an aggressive self-seeder and has been known to escape gardens and naturalize in many areas of the eastern United States. The plant can also spread in the garden by suckering.

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Weedy and invasive, consider planting native alternatives found in the left-hand column. It is listed as invasive in VA, GA, SC TN, KY and others including the Great Smoky Mountains of NC and TN. The NC Invasive Plant Council lists it as invasive. Unlike some other species of Spiraea, this plant may be damaged by deer. Spiraeas are susceptible to many of the diseases and insects that attack other rose family members, including leaf spot, fire blight, powdery mildew, root rot, aphids, leaf roller and scale.

VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for "Trees, Shrubs and Conifers" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.

Profile Video:
See this plant in the following landscape:
Floricyle
Cultivars / Varieties:
Double Play® Candy Corn®, 'Gold Mound', 'Lime Mound', 'Little Princess', 'Neon Flash', 'Shirobana'
Tags:
#deciduous#invasive#fragrant flowers#drought tolerant#shrub#pink flowers#tsc#high maintenance#aggressive#deer browsing plant#fantz#butterfly friendly#tsc-s#suckering shrub#weed#cpp
 
Cultivars / Varieties:
Double Play® Candy Corn®, 'Gold Mound', 'Lime Mound', 'Little Princess', 'Neon Flash', 'Shirobana'
Tags:
#deciduous#invasive#fragrant flowers#drought tolerant#shrub#pink flowers#tsc#high maintenance#aggressive#deer browsing plant#fantz#butterfly friendly#tsc-s#suckering shrub#weed#cpp
  • Attributes:
    Genus:
    Spiraea
    Species:
    japonica
    Family:
    Rosaceae
    Life Cycle:
    Perennial
    Recommended Propagation Strategy:
    Seed
    Stem Cutting
    Country Or Region Of Origin:
    Japan and China
    Wildlife Value:
    attracts butterflies
    Dimensions:
    Height: 4 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
    Width: 4 ft. 0 in. - 7 ft. 0 in.
  • Whole Plant Traits:
    Plant Type:
    Perennial
    Shrub
    Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
    Deciduous
    Habit/Form:
    Dense
    Erect
    Rounded
    Growth Rate:
    Rapid
    Maintenance:
    High
    Texture:
    Medium
  • Cultural Conditions:
    Light:
    Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
    Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
    Soil Texture:
    Clay
    High Organic Matter
    Loam (Silt)
    Shallow Rocky
    Soil pH:
    Alkaline (>8.0)
    Soil Drainage:
    Good Drainage
    Available Space To Plant:
    3 feet-6 feet
    NC Region:
    Coastal
    Mountains
    Piedmont
    USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
    3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
  • Fruit:
    Fruit Color:
    Brown/Copper
    Fruit Type:
    Follicle
    Fruit Description:
    Fruit is a dry, brown follicle.
  • Flowers:
    Flower Color:
    Pink
    Flower Inflorescence:
    Corymb
    Flower Value To Gardener:
    Fragrant
    Showy
    Flower Bloom Time:
    Spring
    Summer
    Flower Size:
    < 1 inch
    Flower Description:
    Blooms in June and July with mild fragrance. Inflorescence is terminal flat-topped corymb or borne in uppermost leaf axils with flower clusters to 8 inches in diameter. Flowers are deep pink or rose-reddish, 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch.
  • Leaves:
    Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
    Deciduous
    Leaf Color:
    Green
    Leaf Value To Gardener:
    Showy
    Leaf Type:
    Simple
    Leaf Arrangement:
    Alternate
    Leaf Shape:
    Lanceolate
    Ovate
    Leaf Margin:
    Doubly Serrate
    Serrate
    Hairs Present:
    No
    Leaf Length:
    1-3 inches
    Leaf Description:
    Lustrous dark green leaves. 1 to 3 inches long when mature. Serrate to double serrate margins. Pink, red, purple, yellow or chartreuse leaves when young. Somewhat glaucous with downy veins beneath.
  • Stem:
    Stem Color:
    Brown/Copper
    Stem Is Aromatic:
    No
    Stem Cross Section:
    Round
    Stem Form:
    Straight
    Stem Surface:
    Hairy (pubescent)
    Stem Description:
    Wiry, freely branching, erect stems are brown to reddish-brown, round in cross-section and sometimes hairy.
  • Landscape:
    Attracts:
    Butterflies
    Resistance To Challenges:
    Drought
    Erosion
    Problems:
    Invasive Species
    Weedy