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Rosaceae
Japanese Meadowsweet
Spiraea japonica
Useless beauty made useful and carefree joy.
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Genus
- Spiraea
- Native to
- Japan, China, Korea
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- deciduous shrub
- Height
- 60–180 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- adaptable; prefers moist, well-drained
- Water
- medium
- Hardiness
- 3–8
- Lifespan
- 20–30 years
Did you know
- Japanese meadowsweet is so adaptable that it has become invasive in parts of eastern North America and Europe.
- Flat-topped flower clusters can contain hundreds of tiny individual blossoms, each barely 5 mm across.
- Cultivars like 'Goldflame' are grown more for their colorful foliage — emerging copper, turning lime green, then gold.
- Butterflies are its primary pollinators, especially skippers and small fritillaries.
- In Victorian gardens it was called 'Japanese spirea' and was one of the first Asian shrubs to become a landscaping staple.
Color meanings
Pink
lighthearted happiness
Rose
gentle romance
White
simple pleasures