Steeplebush Spiraea tomentosa
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- spy-REE-ah toh-men-TOH-sah
- Description
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Steeplebush, is an upright, multi-stemmed, suckering, deciduous shrub in the Roseacae (rose) family native to wet meadows, wet pastures, boggy areas, marshes, fields, and lake margins from Nova Scotia south to Louisiana and Georgia. As it's native location suggests, the plant needs moist acidic soils in order to grow well to its mature height of 4 feet with a slightly larger width.
Steeplebush is easy to grow in average, acidic, moist to wet soils in full sun. It will tolerate a wide range of soil and light shade, but a site with full sun is best for maximum blooming. Remove faded flower clusters as soon as practical to encourage additional blooms. The plant flowers on new wood, so prune in late winter to early spring if needed. This a vigorous plant that will spread by suckers to form colonies. The root system is woody and branching and the woody stems often die down to the ground during the winter.
A good selection for moist locations in the landscape or as a low hedge for paths and walkways. This is a flowering shrub with tiny pink to rose to rose-purple flowers clustered, top to bottom, on 4 to 8 inch terminal spikes that bloom from mid-summer to early autumn. These flowers attract butterflies. It is the larval host plant for the New England Buck moth (Hemileuca lucina)
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious insect or disease problems. Susceptible to many of the diseases that attack other rose family members, including leaf spot, fire blight, and powdery mildew. Potential insect pests include aphids, leaf roller, caterpillars and scale. The caterpillars of some moths are known to feed on the leaves. Although White-Tailed Deer have been known to browse on Steeplebush, it is not preferred as a source of food because of the bitter and astringent foliage.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Spiraea
- Species:
- tomentosa
- Family:
- Rosaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Seed
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Northern and Central Europe, Eastern United States
- Wildlife Value:
- Attracts butterflies. It is the larval host of the New England Buck Moth.
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- tolerates deer
- Dimensions:
- Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Multi-stemmed
- Rounded
- Maintenance:
- Low
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Wet
- 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
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Follicle
- Fruit Description:
- Each flower is replaced by 5 small brown follicles that are ovoid with short beaks. Each follicle splits open at the apex to release several slender seeds. Fruits become available September-October.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Pink
- Purple/Lavender
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Raceme
- Spike
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Long Bloom Season
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Summer
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Rounded plumes of deep pink to rose-purple flowers in dense, narrow, steeple-shaped, terminal spikes (to 4 to 8 inches long) that bloom July through September. Individual flowers are a little less than ¼" across, consisting of a short calyx with 5 teeth, 5 spreading petals that are usually pink (less often white), a cluster of 5 pistils, and numerous exerted stamens. The delicate petals are well-rounded and rather wrinkled. The abundant flowers bloom from the top of the panicle downward, gradually turning brown. There is no noticeable floral scent. They bloom July-September.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Leathery
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Elliptical
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Dentate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- Dark green egg-shaped leaves to 3 inches long with coarse marginal teeth are tapered at both ends and densely tomentose (yellowish-brown hairs) beneath. No fall color. Leaves are abundant along the stem; they are 1½–3" long, ½–1¼" across. The upper surfaces of the leaves are dark green and hairless, while their lower surfaces are more pale and covered with hairs.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Hairy (pubescent)
- Stem Description:
- The central stem is terete and brown; it is initially covered with woolly brown hairs, but later becomes hairless and woody. The central stem terminates in a dense panicle of pink flowers about 4-8" long and about one-third as much across. The panicle has a narrowly pyramidal shape with short lateral branches that are ascending or spreading. These branches are covered with short tawny hairs.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Naturalized Area
- Slope/Bank
- Landscape Theme:
- Butterfly Garden
- Native Garden
- Rain Garden
- Design Feature:
- Border
- Hedge
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Erosion