'Goldflame' has been a very popular small shrub since the 1980's in much of the US because of its colourful foliage. Since then it has been very popular for people to have "colour" in their yards by using woody plants with yellow or red foliage. I'd rather do that with flowers instead. However, the use of red or yellow foliaged woody plants as an accent, not as a mainstay, is recommended by professional landscape architects and designers. The buds and young leaves of 'Goldflame' begin as red in early spring and then most of the leaf colour is orangish-yellow with red areas the rest of the cool springtime. When the weather becomes warm, the foliage becomes a bright greenish-yellow, and during the heat of summer the foliage colour becomes a poor yellowish-green. Then in autumn it returns to a good fall colour of yellow-orange with red areas. It does bloom alright with the pink flower clusters in June-early July, though they are smaller than those of various green foliaged cultivars and it does not look as good contrasted with yellow-green colour. This cultivar is normally listed in nursery catalogs under Spiraea x bumalda rather than S. japonica. If not pruned this cultivar like the mother species is usually about 4 to 5 feet high and a little wider, but I have seen it eventually get to 6 feet high x 9 feet wide.

Reply to this comment