As our weather begins to warm up, it’s becoming more obvious just how much damage was done during last January’s extreme cold. Now is a great time to prune back dead wood, tidy up misshapen plants and remove the ones which have not yet shown any signs of life. When we look at replacement options, it’s important to select new plants that are extremely heat, cold and drought tolerant.
One family of plants, in particular, will make a great contribution to our landscapes. Spiraeas are truly making all the difference in terms of foliage, colour and long flowering habit. The low mounding forms are the most valuable because they fit into so many plant combinations and will tolerate full, hot sun and partially shaded locations.
Spiraea ‘Goldmound’ grows only 0.5 to 1 metre tall and wide and has vibrant yellow foliage. Its contrasting pink flowers begin blooming in late spring and continue well into late summer.
Spiraea ‘Magic Carpet’ also has golden foliage, but for a nice contrast its new growth is a vibrant red, which keeps coming all summer. The flowers are a pinkish purple, and they too continue blooming well into summer. Both these varieties are rated zone 3 for hardiness, making them prairie hardy.
The green foliage spiraeas do not have the bright leaf colour of the golden varieties, but they more than make up for it with their large and vivid flowers. S.‘Little Princess’ grows about 0.
5 meters tall and wide with large leaves and bright pink flowers that bloom.
