Steeplebush (Spirea tomentosa)
Height: 2 to 4 feet
Spread: 3 to 5 feet
Bloom Time: July to September
Bloom Description: Rose to Pink
Flower: Showy
Sun: Full sun
Suggested Use: Hedge, Naturalize and Rain Garden
Tolerate: Deer
Native to: Jefferson County
A firecracker of a plant that provides late summer blooms.
Steeplebush is a small suckering deciduous shrub that has tough plant stems. Its leaves are dark green and political in shape, but are lightly colored underneath , making it quite noticeable on a breezy summer day. The under-leaves are quite pubescent and the furry to the touch quality of the leaf gave the plant part of its scientific name and can be used as an identifier.
Steeplebush is easy to grow in average, acidic, moist to wet soils in full sun. It will tolerate a wide range of soil and light shade, but a site with full sun is best for maximum blooming.
Flowers are rounded plumes of deep pink to rose-purple flowers in dense, narrow, steeple-shaped, terminal spikes (to 4 to 8 inches long) that bloom July through September. Remove faded flower clusters as soon as practical to encourage additional blooms. The plant flowers on new wood, so prune in late winter to early spring if needed.
This a vigorous plant that will spread by suckers to form colonies. The root system is woody and branching and the woody stems often die down to the ground during the winter.
The Steeplebush is a host to 77 species of butterflies and moths. The plant is an important host for the Columbia silkmoth. The endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebee favors this plant species and Steeplebush is often utilized in surveys to determine the bee’s presence. A great source of both pollen and nectar the plant is visited by a wide variety of butterflies, skippers, and native bees.■
