Plant Encyclopedia

Other Names:  Spiraea japonica

Description:

An exciting new spirea, this plant is truly a dwarf version of the well-known Goldflame spirea, featuring the same rich gold color, dazzling pink flowers and spectacular fall color; an incredibly versatile color accent, looks fantastic in the rock garden

Ornamental Features

Mini Sunglo Spirea features showy clusters of hot pink flowers at the ends of the branches from late spring to early summer. It has attractive yellow deciduous foliage which emerges tomato-orange in spring. The small serrated pointy leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding scarlet in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Mini Sunglo Spirea is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a more or less rounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Mini Sunglo Spirea is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Mini Sunglo Spirea will grow to be about 15 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Mini Sunglo Spirea makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.