Japanese Spiraea 'Dart's Red'

Japanese spiraea 'Dart's Red' (Spiraea japonica 'Dart's Red') carries the hottest colour among the summer spiraeas. In July and August the neat little bush is covered in dense flat corymbs of deep carmine-red that do not fade in the sun, while the lance-shaped young leaves come with an attractive reddish tint.

The bush is compact and tidy: in five to ten years it stays within 0.5-1 m in height and width, so it holds the front edge of a border beautifully. It flowers on the current season's shoots, which means a spring cut-back does it nothing but good. Against pink cultivars such as 'Little Princess' its colour reads far darker and denser.

Key characteristics:

• What makes it special: The corymbs hum with bees and butterflies - the RHS lists the cultivar as perfect for pollinators - and the bush shrugs off town dust while holding no interest for deer.
• Dimensions: At 10 years 0.5-1 m tall and the same across.
• Hardiness: It withstands down to -40 °C (USDA zone 3).
• Flowering: In July-August the bush flares up with dense carmine-red flat corymbs.
• Light: It grows in sun and partial shade, but the brightest flower colour comes in open sun.
• Soil: It takes almost any moist soil easily - chalky, loamy or sandy.
• Watering: It likes even, moderate moisture - no drying out and no standing water.
• Care: It flowers on young shoots, so prune in late winter; overgrown bushes respond gladly to a hard rejuvenation right after flowering.
• Landscape use: Flower borders and mixed borders, city, coastal and cottage gardens, and plantings that draw in insects.
• Origin: The cultivar holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit.