Monday, April 6, 2009

Spirea transplanting


The Easiest Shrub to Propagate and "Passalong": The Bridal Wreath Spirea

Some shrubs are difficult to transplant (like the tree peony, only transplant in fall, in great soil, perfect moisture and provide animal sacrifices and even then it might croak) and some are so wildly easy to propagate that you should never actually buy one! The lovely Bridal Wreath Spirea is just such a shrub (many of the spireas are a snap to transplant).

My friend Jeannie gave me my first BW Spirea. She dug it out of the ground and plopped it into a pot so cavalierly that I though it would never take. It is pictured above, 8 years later. I have propagated three more for me and 5 for a friend just this past week. All you need to do is find a sucker that has come out of the ground (they will send up multiple suckers from the base). Uncover the soil from the rooting runner and cut it off at a point past a few roots. There don’t need to be many roots and they do not need to be very long nor very strong. Pop it into a prepared hole in the ground (or a pot to share with a friend). Make sure you tie it to a stake, as the plant has so few roots it may easily tip over. Water well, then water weekly. It will bloom the next spring and grow into a handsome, flowering shrub.

One don’t: I would not do transplant any shrub in the high heat of summer, only in spring or fall. This spirea can be transplanted even when in flower, which is unusual for many plants. I am also trying this with a lovely, double pink spirea that invaded from my neighbor’s yard and will let you know how this turns out!

Happy gardening!

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