Japanese Spiraea 'Little Princess'

Japanese Spiraea (Spiraea japonica) 'Little Princess' is a tidy green cushion that disappears under a pink cloud every summer. Small mint-green leaves clothe the rounded crown densely, and flat corymbs of soft pink flowers settle over the top - so many of them that the green beneath barely shows.

It flowers from May to July, and in autumn the foliage takes on pretty reddish tints. At 0.45-0.75 m tall and 0.6-0.9 m wide it is ideal for edging a path, a rock garden, a low hedge or a group under a window. Unlike the yellow-leaved cultivars, here the flowering is the whole point.

Key characteristics:

• What makes it special: The name 'Little Princess' is literal - this is a miniature, altogether daintier version of the ordinary Japanese spiraea.
• Dimensions: A compact little globe: 0.45-0.75 m tall and 0.6-0.9 m wide at maturity.
• Hardiness: Winters without cover - hardy to -34 °C (USDA zone 4).
• Flowering: From May to July the shrub is covered with pink flat corymb-like inflorescences.
• Light: Best in full sun; it takes light shade, though the flowering is less generous there.
• Soil: Takes any well-drained soil of medium moisture with ease, and grows most generously on fertile moist loam.
• Watering: Water moderately and evenly: the soil should stay medium-moist, neither drying out nor waterlogged.
• Care: It flowers on the current year's shoots, so prune in late winter to early spring and simply cut off the spent heads.
• Landscape use: A specimen or groups in rock gardens, drifts in a shrub border, a low hedge along paths and foundation plantings.