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Spiraea Shirobana is an ornamental shrub of the Rosaceae family, which is very popular in Russia. This is explained by the hardiness of the variety, the low price of planting material and the beauty of the plant. In addition, Shirobana spirea is highly valued for its resistance to low temperatures and unpretentiousness.
Description of Spirea Shirobana
Japanese spirea Genpei Shirobana is a small plant, about 70-80 cm high. The bush is highly branched and quickly grows in width - the diameter of the bush can reach 120 cm. Young branches of spirea are pubescent. The color of the shoots is reddish-brown.
The shape of the leaves is ovoid, slightly elongated. They are small in size. The outer part of the leaf blade is dark green, but the leaves below are bluish. In autumn, green tones turn into orange or even reddish shades, making the spirea bush look beautiful even after flowering has ended.
The color of Shirobana spirea flowers varies from white to soft pink shades. This variety blooms throughout the summer.
Spiraea Shirobana in landscape design
Japanese spirea of the Jenpei Shirobana variety is used in landscape design to form uniform hedges, borders and decorate slopes. The shrub is also planted together with other varieties to create spectacular group compositions. Due to the fact that different varieties bloom at different times, the decorative effect of such flower beds extends throughout the entire season.
Planting and care of Japanese spirea Shirobana
Planting Shirobana spirea, as well as subsequent plant care, as a rule, does not cause much difficulty. What you should pay attention to before planting shrubs:
- Spiraea Shirobana prefers open sunny areas, but also grows well in partial shade.
- There are no special requirements for the composition of the soil, but it is better to plant spirea on loose, light soils.
- The recommended planting time for the Shirobana variety is early September.
- It will be easier for seedlings to adapt to a new location if planting is done in rainy, cloudy weather.
This garden crop is unpretentious and will do little harm if it does not follow these recommendations, however, the listed conditions are necessary for the bush to bloom as abundantly as possible.
Preparation of planting material and site
Preparing a site for planting Shirobana spirea comes down to digging up the site and adding organic fertilizers to the soil. As for planting material, it does not require any special preparatory procedures.It is enough to inspect the seedlings and reject specimens with significant damage: cuts, broken shoots and ruptured roots.
Planting spirea Shirobana
The planting algorithm for the Shirobana variety is as follows:
- Holes are dug in the area, the diameter of which should be slightly larger than the area of the roots of the seedlings. The depth of the pits should not exceed half a meter.
- At the bottom of the holes I put drainage: pebbles, gravel, broken bricks or clay shards.
- The drainage layer is sprinkled with a mixture of peat, sand and garden soil, taken in equal proportions. It is necessary to pour a thin layer of soil on top of this soil mixture so that the roots of the spirea do not directly touch the peat.
- The seedlings are lowered into the holes, the roots are evenly distributed along the bottom and covered with earth. The root collar should be level with the ground or slightly higher; it cannot be buried.
- Plantings are watered and mulched. Mulch helps to better retain moisture in the tree trunk circle. Peat or walnut shells are best suited as mulch.
Watering and fertilizing
Spiraea Shirobana needs more careful care in the first year of life, which includes frequent watering. The soil near the bush should not dry out. Adult plants are watered at least 2 times a month. At the same time, about 10-15 liters of water are consumed for each bush.
Bushes are usually fed in the spring. Complex fertilizers are applied to the soil according to the instructions. Young seedlings can be fed in the summer with a solution of mullein with the addition of 
Trimming
Sanitary pruning of last year's shoots is carried out in early spring. It is important to do this before the buds open. Weak shoots can be removed completely. The procedure promotes more active growth of young shoots.
In the 4th year of life, you can carry out intensive rejuvenating pruning of Shirobana spirea. To do this, the branches are pruned so that only stumps about 30 cm long remain. Starting from the age of 4, such pruning can be carried out annually.
After each pruning, plantings are watered and fertilized abundantly. To do this, you can use a solution of manure or superphosphate. Recommended proportions: 10 g per 10 liters of water. Fertilizer is applied at the very root of the spirea.
Preparing for winter
Spiraea Shirobana is capable of overwintering without any harm to development without covering material, but this only applies to adult plants. Young seedlings are too weak to survive the winter under natural cover - snow. It is recommended to sprinkle them with a thick layer of dry leaves.
Reproduction
Spiraea Shirobana can be propagated in the following ways:
- cuttings;
- layering;
- dividing the bush;
- seeds.
The latter method is used very rarely, since during seed propagation there is often a loss of varietal qualities of a garden crop.
The most popular is cuttings from spirea. The advantage of this method is the high survival rate of planting material even without treating the cuttings with growth stimulants.
Shirobana spirea is bred by cuttings as follows:
- The bush is inspected and an annual shoot is selected from it.
- It is cut off almost to the root and the resulting cut is divided again into several parts. The length of the cutting should be on average 15 cm. Each part should have no more than 6 leaves.
- The bottom of the cuttings must be cleared of leaves.
- The remaining leaves are cut in half.
- The cuttings are dipped for 5 hours in a solution of the Epin preparation (1 ml per 2 liters of water).
- After this time, the lower cut of the cuttings is sprinkled with a growth stimulator (you can use Kornevin), after which the planting material is planted in containers filled with sand.
- The cuttings are buried at an angle of 45°.
- Then the cuttings are covered with jars or film, after which the containers are put into the shade.
- With the onset of the first cold weather, the boxes are dug into the ground and covered with dry leaves.
- In the spring, the boxes are opened and the spirea is transplanted to a permanent place.
Breeding Shirobana spirea by layering is no less popular. Layers are formed according to the following scheme:
- One of the spirea branches is carefully bent to the ground, trying not to break it.
- The end of the shoot is buried in the ground and secured with a metal bracket or heavy object.
- When the cuttings form a full-fledged root system, they can be separated from the mother bush and planted in another place.
Another vegetative method of propagating Shirobana spirea, in which all varietal qualities are preserved, is dividing the bush. The procedure is carried out as follows:
- In the spring, before the buds bloom, the bush is dug out along with a lump of earth.
- The roots of the spirea are lowered into a basin of water. This is necessary so that the earth softens. This will make it easier to clean the plant’s root system.
- The rhizome is divided into 3-4 equal parts, after which each part can be planted.
Diseases and pests
Spiraea Shirobana rarely gets sick, but plantings can be affected by pests. The most dangerous insects for this variety include the following insects:
- aphid;
- spider mite;
- rose leaf roller.
The fact that the spirea has been infected by a mite is indicated by the formation of a thin web on the leaves. In addition, the bush begins to turn yellow ahead of schedule. Soon after this it drops its leaves.
The danger of spider mites is that they very quickly deplete the bush. You can’t drag out the fight against him. Any insecticide can effectively control pests, but the drugs “Phosfamide” and “Karbofos” have proven themselves especially well. The dosage is indicated in the instructions.
Aphids plague gardeners in the second half of summer. The presence of the pest is determined by the inflorescences eaten, from which the insect sucks out the juice. It also affects the leaves, on which small holes appear. You can get rid of aphids using the Pirimor insecticide, a solution of grated laundry soap or ash.
Reviews of Spirea Shiroban
Conclusion
Spiraea Shirobana is ideal for those who do not have the opportunity or desire to spend a lot of time caring for their garden plot.This variety does not require special attention, so even a beginner can cope with growing shrubs. The frost resistance of Shirobana spirea allows it to be grown in almost all regions of Russia.
