Van Houtte Spiraea (Spiraea vanhouttei) in the Spiraeas Database

This is an old-fashioned plant that was planted a lot around the foundations of old houses in the late 1800's and the first half of the 20th century, as was Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus). It is a hybrid between two Chinese species of similar spireas made about 1862. Most every conventional nursery has gone to selling a few newer cultivars of similar spirea species and hybrids instead since the 1990's. This is one of the classic "Bridalwreaths" still offered by some mail order nurseries. I have seen a few still around, especially close to old houses in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic Regions of the US. I believe this hybrid is sterile and does not bear seed, and does not ever become one of the invasive Eurasian plants that escape cultivation, as I have never seen seedlings around. Later in autumn it gets a nice orange fall color with some yellow, red, and purple tones. Like other spireas it has a shallow, fibrous root system. It does get very twiggy that shows up in winter and it can be heavily or drastically renew pruned right after it blooms.

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