Spirea "Grefsheim" 2L pot

• Type: deciduous shrub, spring-flowering spiraea
• Botanical name: Spiraea × cinerea 'Grefsheim'
• Height and spread: 1–1.5 m / 1–1.5 m
• Flowering: April–May, before the leaves; white ~8 mm flowers along the whole branch
• Foliage: narrow, grey-green; coppery-bronze and yellow in autumn
• Light: sun to part shade
• Soil: any well-drained garden soil; tolerates poor soil
• Hardiness: USDA 4 (RHS H6), no winter cover needed in Estonia
• Pruning: right after flowering – flowers on last year's shoots
• Use: hedges, specimen, groups, banks, bee plant
• Size: 2 L pot

Planting. 'Grefsheim' flowers most freely in full sun but accepts part shade. Any well-drained garden soil will do; this spiraea is undemanding and grows even on poor sandy soil. Dig a hole twice the width of the root ball and keep the root collar at soil level. For a hedge plant 2–3 per running metre; for a specimen allow 1.2–1.5 m of space. Container plants can go in from April to October.

Watering and feeding. Water once a week in the first season, 10 L per plant; mature plants are drought-tolerant. A spring feed of balanced shrub fertiliser is all it needs. A mulch of bark or compost holds moisture and suppresses weeds.

Care. 'Grefsheim' flowers on last year's shoots, so do not prune it in spring or you will cut off the flower buds. Prune straight after flowering (late May – June): shorten flowered branches to strong young shoots and every 3–4 years remove a third of the oldest stems at the base. Clip formal hedges after flowering too. No winter protection is needed in Estonia.

Gardener's tip. Underplant 'Grefsheim' with early bulbs – grape hyacinths, scillas, daffodils: they flower at the same time, and the white cloud of spiraea above a blue carpet is one of the loveliest spring scenes in the garden.