Spirea - planting and care in the open field

Various types of ornamental shrubs are widely used in landscape design. They can act as a hedge or be an accent in a flower arrangement. Spiraea, planting and care in the open field for which is very simple, is suitable for both one purpose and another. It is quite decorative and, moreover, unpretentious, and abundant flowering is an excellent addition to its pluses. Even a beginner can grow it.

Before you start planting this shrub, you should familiarize yourself with the rules of cultivation and further care, find out what kind of plant it is - a spirea.

How to grow a spirea: planting and care

To grow a healthy plant that will delight not only with lush greenery, but also with abundant flowering, you need to provide for all stages: from buying planting material to caring for already planted shrubs.

Spirea is a spectacular shrub

Saplings

The first step is to purchase planting material. Depending on the purpose for which the plant will be grown, as a hedge or for a single planting, it is important to decide on the variety. There are many of them, they have different requirements and external characteristics. Among this variety, there will definitely be one that is most suitable for a particular case.

After the variety is selected and the required number of seedlings is determined, you can proceed directly to the acquisition of planting material. There are two important criteria to consider.

• The first thing to look at is the root system. It must be well developed and have at least three strong taproots. It should also be free of damage and areas with signs of disease.
• Depending on the planting period, the condition of the upper part of the plant is assessed. If the purchase of a seedling came in the spring, then the buds on its shoots should still be closed and not swollen. In the case of autumn planting, the leaves on the shoots should already be absent.

Spirea seedling

Landing time and technology

For planting, you can choose both the autumn period and the summer. The main thing is to take into account the peculiarities of the climate. The time of the autumn planting should be chosen so that the plant has time to get stronger before the onset of frost, and in the spring you need to wait until the threat of frost has passed.

Planting a seedling

Technology

The process of planting seedlings in the ground can be divided into several successive stages.

1. Digging a hole. Its diameter should exceed the size of the root system of the seedling by 20-30%.
2. Filling the planting pit 2/3 with prepared soil. The earth should be covered with a mound.
3. Sapling placement. The roots of the plant must be straightened, the damaged ones must be removed and straightened over the surface of the earthen mound.
4. Filling the pit with the rest of the soil. It should be ensured that the root collar of the seedling is flush with the ground.
5. Watering. It is also advisable to mulch the soil around the plant to reduce moisture loss.

If a seedling is planted with a clod of earth, watering is done directly into the planting hole, and then it is filled with soil.

Soil preparation and site selection

Spirea is unpretentious not only in care, but also not demanding on the soil. It can grow almost everywhere, but certain conditions must be observed for a healthy plant to look. It is necessary to take into account what kind of soil the spirea loves and where it is best to place it in the garden.

This perennial shrub negatively tolerates excess moisture, respectively, and prefers light and drained soil. To improve the composition of clay soil, it is better to add sand and peat to it. If the soil is sandy and too light, it will not hurt to add a little clay.

Also, when preparing the soil for planting, compost or rotted manure should be added to it.

Spirea is a flowering shrub. Due to its undemanding nature, it can grow in the shade, but in this case, you should not expect abundant flowering. In order for this shrub to please not only lush greenery, but also flowers, it is better to choose a sunny place for planting it.

Growing in spring and autumn

The flowering of spirea can occur either in the summer or in the spring. This factor should be guided by when choosing the time for planting. The spring period is only suitable for spring-flowering varieties. All species can be planted in autumn, regardless of their flowering period.

When planting in the fall, you need to take care of the construction of a shelter for young plants for the winter. Depending on the variety, a shelter for the winter is installed either every year, or only for the first winter after planting.

Features of care in different regions

Due to its unpretentiousness and rather high frost resistance, spiraea is suitable for growing even in Siberia and the Urals. Of course, not all varieties of this plant are suitable for these regions. Most suitable:

• birch-leaved;
• medium;
• oak-leaved;
• Vanguta;
• gray;
• Billard;
• willow.

Variety White bride

Given the difficult climatic conditions of these regions, or rather the low temperatures in winter, it is necessary to shelter the spirea for the winter every year. Also, the landing dates will differ slightly. In the spring, it is better to start this process later, and in the fall, on the contrary, earlier, until the cold comes. Spirea in the Urals, the cultivation of which is very easy here, is widespread and popular.

There are no special requirements for growing this shrub in the Moscow region. When leaving, you should focus on the characteristics of the variety, or rather on its winter hardiness. For example, White Bride spiraea, planting and caring for which is simple, can withstand frosts down to -40 ° C.

Reproduction

For spirea, as for many other types of shrubs, there are several breeding options. You can get a new plant by dividing the bush, or by layering. But such an opportunity is not always presented, especially if the owner of the bush does not want to injure the plant in order to share. In this case, cuttings are perfect as a propagation method.

Cuttings

There are just a few steps to take.

1. Cutting preparation. For this purpose, you need to choose an annual shoot and cut it into pieces so that each one has 4-5 leaves. The lower ones should be removed, the rest should be trimmed.
2. Exposure in solution.Next, you need to place the cuttings in a growth stimulant solution and keep them for the required time.
3. Landing in the ground. Cuttings can be rooted both in a separate container and in the open field. The soil must be prepared in both cases.
4. Shelter installation. After planting, cuttings should be covered with a glass jar or cut plastic bottle.

Further, it is necessary to monitor all the time that the soil at the planting site of the cuttings remains moist. They will also benefit from periodic spraying.

They can be left in the ground for the winter, but be sure to cover them well. Overwintered and matured cuttings can be transplanted to a permanent place by spring.

Seeds

Another way to get a new spirea plant is by seed propagation.

This breeding process also consists of several stages.

1. Seed collection. For spring-flowering species, this is the beginning of June, and for summer-flowering species, the end of this month or later.
2. Soil preparation. Pour a mixture of peat with vermiculite in a 4: 1 ratio into a special container.
3. Sowing. It is produced on the surface, without burying the seeds in the ground.
4. Moisturizing. The soil surface should be carefully moistened with a spray bottle, being careful not to wash off the seeds.
5. Shelter. The container should be covered with foil or glass.

Seeds

You can place a container with seeds both indoors and outdoors. The main thing is that this is a place in partial shade, and not in the sun.

As shoots appear, the film should be removed. When the sprouts reach a height of 2 cm, the seedlings need to be planted. In the fall, they can already be transplanted into the ground, and in the spring to a permanent place.

Outdoor care

For full development and annual flowering, you need to know how to care for a spirea and how to provide it with proper care. It consists of several important procedures.

Watering

This rather drought-resistant shrub needs rare but abundant watering. He will need 10-15 liters of water 2-3 times a month. If rainfall occurs regularly, this rate can be reduced. In the event of a lack of moisture, shoots and leaves may dry out.

Also, some varieties of shrubs, for example, Japanese spirea, require more frequent watering. By the way, her flowers have a pleasant pink tint.

Fertilizers and feeding

Spirea is responsive to fertilization, both organic and mineral. In the spring, it is better to use a complex mineral fertilizer. This will speed up the development and growth of the plant. Nitrogen fertilizers can only be applied during this period. In the summer, after the end of flowering, as well as after pruning, organic fertilizers are needed.

For mineral fertilizing, it is better to choose a ready-made complex fertilizer for ornamental shrubs. It can be purchased from a specialist store. For example, the Leningrad Garden Center offers a wide range of similar products.

You can use manure or compost as organic fertilizer. But this should be done with caution. Why is that? When using manure, the dosage should be strictly observed to avoid scalding the root system.

Spirea care in spring, pruning and feeding

There are certain procedures that should be carried out in the spring. For a spirea, this is a sanitary pruning.

Pruning

Depending on the period during which the flowering phase of the shrub falls, an appropriate haircut is carried out. Spring flowering species require minimal pruning. Only the ends of the shoots that have suffered from the winter cold are subject to removal. Any dried branches should also be removed.

Shoots of late flowering species should be trimmed significantly, leaving only 1-2 buds on them.Excessive growth should also be removed to avoid excessive thickening of the shrub. Diseased and dry shoots should also be removed.

Spirea hedge

This shrub is great for use as a hedge. This green wall will not be particularly demanding to maintain. Quality such as fast growth will allow you to get a dense green hedge in a short time. For example, gray spiraea, the pruning and formation of which is quite simple, is ideal for such purposes. During the flowering period, she looks like a real princess in white.

Live white hedge

Many varieties are suitable for use as a hedge, and some of them do not even require pruning. But to get the desired shape, you should know how to trim the spirea.

Care for such a hedge is identical to that used for this shrub in a single planting. But there are points that should be taken into account in this case.

• It is better to decide on the amount of necessary planting material right away and buy seedlings in one store. This will eliminate the likelihood of planting different varieties.
• When planting, one should take into account the peculiarities of the shrub variety. Depending on the size of an adult plant of a given species, the distance between seedlings in a row should be determined.

Spirea care after flowering

Regardless of the period during which the spirea blooms, it is better to remove the faded brushes. For early flowering varieties, this procedure is mandatory. This should be done immediately after flowering.

For varieties that bloom in summer, removing dried flowers is also desirable, but this can be done with autumn pruning as well.

Early flowering varieties undergo gentle pruning in spring and light shaping during the season. Late flowering plants should be pruned more carefully and shoots should be significantly shortened in early spring.

Dried and damaged shoots should be removed during spring and autumn pruning. This applies to all types of this shrub.

Preparing for winter

Before the plant enters the dormant period for the winter, it should be sanitized pruning. All dry shoots must be removed. Shoots are shortened to a length that is applicable to this particular species. Autumn pruning should be carried out in such a way that the plant has time to move away from it before the onset of cold weather.

How to feed the spirea during this period? After such a procedure, you can feed the shrub with complex potassium-phosphorus fertilizer.

Some types of spirea require shelter for the winter, and certain varieties are able to hibernate under the snow. It is on the requirements of the variety that you should be guided by when deciding on the installation of a shelter.

Diseases and pests

Spirea is very resistant to diseases and pests. But still, it can sometimes be attacked by various types of fungi and attack by some pests. For example, such as:

• aphid;
• spider mite;
• leaf roll;
• whitefly.

In such cases, the plant can suffer significant damage. To avoid this, the shrub should be regularly treated with special preparations for preventive purposes.

Spirea is an ornamental shrub that is distinguished by its unpretentiousness and frost resistance. There are many varieties of this shrub, which differ not only in appearance, but also in the methods of caring for them.

Spirea can be propagated by dividing the bush, layering, cuttings and seeds. The grafting procedure is easy to carry out, and the survival rate of the obtained seedlings is quite high. To control pests and diseases, regular preventive chemical treatment is necessary. Only with the provision of suitable conditions will spirea delight you with lush foliage and abundant flowering all year round.