General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Shrub
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Soil pH Preferences: Slightly acid (6.1 – 6.5)
Neutral (6.6 – 7.3)
Slightly alkaline (7.4 – 7.8)
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 4a -34.4 °C (-30 °F) to -31.7 °C (-25 °F)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 8b
Plant Height: 3-6 feet, usually about 5 feet or a little more
Plant Spread: 5 to 8 feet
Leaves: Deciduous
Flowers: Showy
Fragrant
Blooms on old wood
Flower Color: White
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Late winter or early spring
Spring
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Resistances: Deer Resistant
Rabbit Resistant
Propagation: Other methods: Cuttings: Stem
Pollinators: Various insects
Containers: Not suitable for containers
Miscellaneous: Tolerates poor soil
Monoecious

Image
Common names
  • Thunberg's Meadowsweet
  • Spiraea
  • Thunberg Spiraea

Photo Gallery
Location: Aberdeen, NC (Midway road)
Date: February 23, 2023
Thunberg's Meadowsweet #178 nn; MBG, "Genus name comes from the G
Location: Aberdeen, NC (Midway road)
Date: February 23, 2023
Thunberg's Meadowsweet #178 nn; MBG, "Genus name comes from the G
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2022-03-11
line of shrubs along garage side in winter
Location: Downingtown Pennsylvania
Date: 2021-04-12
flowering branches
Location: Downingtown Pennsylvania
Date: 2021-04-12
branches in bloom
Location: Downingtown Pennsylvania
Date: 2021-04-12
close-up of flowers

photo credit:  Yoko Nekonomania
Location: Downingtown Pennsylvania
Date: 2021-06-05
several shrubs in a line
Location: Downingtown Pennsylvania
Date: 2021-06-05
new summer foliage
Location: Downingtown Pennsylvania
Date: 2021-06-05
side shot

Date: 2010-06-25
Photo courtesy of: Yoko Nekonomania
Location: Downingtown Pennsylvania
Date: 2021-04-12
a row of shrubs in bloom
Comments:
  • Posted by ILPARW (southeast Pennsylvania - Zone 6b) on Apr 12, 2021 3:13 PM concerning plant:
    The Thunberg Spirea is an old-fashioned shrub of the late 1800's to the mid-1900's that I don't see very much anymore in the Midwestern or Mid-Atlantic USA. It was named after one of the doctors of horticulture from the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, MA that sent out many plant hunters to east Asia in the mid-1800's into the early 1900's and brought back many new species to the US, some good to excellent and some bad with invasiveness. This species comes from Japan & China. It has a very fine texture with its very slender twigs and leaves and is airy and wispy. The foliage is light green and turns a light yellow in the fall. The small white single flowers about 1/3 inches across bloom before the leaves emerge in spring, though during a warmer sprint some foliage can appear before the bloom is over. There is a hybrid between this species and the Many-flowered Spirea (Spiraea multiflora) that is Spiraea x arguta that is barely different, and both these species can be called the Garland Spirea. The cultivar of 'Ogon' ('Mellow Yellow') bears bright yellow foliage in spring that fades to a yellowish-green when the heat of summer comes, and is very popular being sold from many conventional nurseries in the early 21st century.
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