- Ford Prefect's summing up of Planet Earth in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but it could equally apply to the family of shrubs known as Spiraea. There are 80-100 species of Spiraea, deciduous, from temperate climates in the north hemisphere, mainly in Asia. Nobody gets excited about Spiraeas - their solid reliability leaves them undervalued - they are just, well...there. Apart from a few that are a bit suckering and spreading, they are ...mostly harmless!
I'm not likely to set you on fire for these shrubs, but just consider their virtues. A small selection of Spiraeas will give you flowers - white, pink, red - from late March to the first frosts. What they lack in terms of showy berries they make up in spectacular autumn colours - yellows, reds, browns. In fact some are only grown for their leaf colour: Spiraea japonica 'Goldflame' begins the spring with translucent orange/red leaves that mature to a gold/green for summer then yellow to end the autumn.
Nurseries and Garden Centres only stock a few popular varieties of plant species - certain plants are regarded as 'commercial' (or 'in fashion' - as evinced by features on TV shows and write-ups in garden magazines), while other great plants go out of fashion and suffer the circularity of 'have you got this plant in stock?' - 'nah, no demand' - 'well I'm demanding!' - 'our wholesaler doesn't carry it! They say it isn't commercial!' If you don't believe me, try walking into a Garden Centre and buying a Cotoneaster with berries other than red!
Fortunately plants have heroic defenders - Botanic Gardens, and of course National Collections, often held by by nurseries and private enthusiasts. For love (certainly not for money!) they keep unfashionable plants available for those of us who develop an interest in a particular Genus, or who simply would like a garden that isn't the same as everybody else's. But...they aren't safe from human frailty, and National Collections are regularly 'mislaid' when gardens close, owners move or retire. And this is what is happening with the French National Collection of Spiraea as I write - the owners are retiring, their nursery is closing, and just 62 of their former range of 136 different Spiraeas remain available, with that number decreasing weekly, and many of the best (unobtainable anywhere else) no longer in stock. I have shopped what I can, but carefully.
Why shop carefully? Because sometimes plants are rare because they are not judged 'garden-worthy': this is a subjective term, but with a bit more substance than mere fashion. 'Garden-worthiness' asks 'is it hard to grow?' 'Does it offer a long season of interest?' 'Does it justify its place in today's ever-smaller gardens?'
The exotic-sounding Sp. tarakoensis sadly underwhelms - a rounded green lump with ?dirty white/not quite pink? flowers. Thankfully it was only £3 from the bargain bin of a fine British nursery, so doesn't owe me anything!
My 'plant rescue' last minute purchases will take time to get established, but the signs so far are promising. Down in the arboretum two new varieties are competing for the size prize:
Sp. micrantha shot up to nearly 2m then arched outwards - the delicate open flowers are a lovely pale pink (doesn't really show in the picture).
Nearby, Sp japonica 'Magnum Rose' is also huge but more upright, but it has the characteristic flat flowers of the species in a beautiful deep red.
Here are some other summer flowering Spiraeas from around the garden - less exciting, but still lovely in their quiet way. And we still have the autumn leaves to come....
Spiraea japonica 'Macrophylla' is striking for its huge leaves: the flowers are routine for the species, but in autumn the large leaves stand out in blazing yellow.
This version of Spiraea japonica is well known for the uncommon blend of flowers - red, pink, white, all on the same plant at the same time. Sp. jap. 'Shirobana' (now renamed 'Genpei') is probably the Spiraea you will find in most Garden Centres.
This tiny dot of a Spiraea will reach 75cm.... eventually! A freshly planted Spiraea japonica 'Pygmaea alba'
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