ardening in 



C a 1 i f o r n i 



a 



SPIREA. 



Spirea. 



A genus comprising about 

 fifty species of handsome flower- 

 ing shrubs mostly deciduous. 

 All are hardy, free-flowering 

 and of easy culture, and no 

 garden is complete without a 

 collection of these most beauti- 

 ful shrubs. They are excellent 

 subjects for bordering groups of 

 taller or more strongly-growing 

 kinds which alone are apt to 

 form stiff or too formal effects. 

 A good collection of Spirea, 

 when well grown, will give a 



supply of flowers for quite a long season; for instance Spirea 

 Chinensis commences blooming early in March and is succeeded 

 by Spirea prunifolia; then follow the beautiful white-flowered 

 sweet-scented Spirea media, the rosy-red Spirea Japonica and the 

 Queen of the Prairie (Spirea lobata) with delicate peach-colored 

 flowers, while Spirea Lindleyana, the latest flowering of all, 

 blooms in September. These, with the addition of many vari- 

 eties (including our native species Spirea Douglassii, Spirea 

 aruncus, Spirea millefolia, Spirea opulifolia, Spirea dumosa, 

 etc.) make a most desirable collection in any garden. 



The Spirea grows freely in any good soil with ordinary care 

 and a reasonable amount of water during the growing season. 

 Spirea aruncus, Spirea palmata and other herbaceous species 

 prefer a damp, moist situation, particularly the bank of a stream 

 where their fibrous roots may reach the water. 



The herbaceous species are best propagated by division of the 

 roots, and the shrubby kind either by division of the roots or by 



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