Grey Spiraea 'Grefsheim'

Spiraea x cinerea Grefsheim

One of the most popular, reliable and decorative early-flowering shrubs, often known by the folk name 'May snow'. The variety is prized for its incredible, extraordinarily abundant flowering, during which the long arching branches are completely covered with snow-white flowers, turning the bush into a magnificent fountain.

• Bush size: A vigorous, dense shrub with a spreading, rounded crown. The height and diameter of a mature plant are 1.5-2 m. It grows quickly, with an annual increment of up to 20-30 cm.
• Branches: Thin and graceful, they bend picturesquely in an arc right down to the ground. With age they form a dense, cascading bush shape.
• Flowering: Very abundant, lasting about 30-45 days (from May to June). Small, snow-white double flowers are gathered into dense umbrella-shaped inflorescences that completely cover last year's shoots, before the leaves appear or at the same time as them. The flowers have a pleasant honey scent that attracts bees.
• Foliage: Small, lanceolate, up to 2-4 cm long. In summer it has a characteristic grey-green or ashy tint, which is exactly how the variety earned its name 'grey'. In autumn the leaves turn a bright lemon-yellow.
• Light requirements: An exclusively sun-loving plant. In shade or partial shade the flowering becomes less abundant and the crown loses its density.
• Soil: Completely undemanding. It grows well on any garden soil, but prefers moderately moist, drained and fertile substrates. It tolerates urban conditions (gas and smoke pollution) perfectly.
• Pruning: Important! Since Spiraea Grefsheim flowers on last year's shoots, formative and sanitary pruning is carried out immediately after flowering (in summer), not in spring.
• Frost resistance: Extremely high. The plant is fully frost-resistant throughout Ukraine, does not suffer frost damage and needs no cover.