Plant Details

Spiraea tomentosa

Steeplebush

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Tiny densely clustered pink flowers attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Host plant for numerous butterfly and moth caterpillars.

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Description:

Upright in shape and structure, this showy flowering woody shrub can appear as a dense growth of upright perennials. Tiny pink flowers are densely clustered on narrow, steeple-shaped, terminal spikes and bloom continuously for about 2 months, from mid-summer to early autumn. Removing faded flowers encourages more blooms, however birds eat the seeds if allowed to dry out on the stem. It flowers on new wood, so prune in late winter to early spring, as needed, although the woody stems may die down to the ground during the winter. Steeplebush prefers moist, acidic, sandy soil for best growth, although it tolerates a wide range of soil textures. Prefers full sun, but tolerates light shade. It’s astringent and bitter taste tends to discourage deer browse. Steeplebush spreads by suckers to form colonies, creating wide masses, appropriate for foundational plantings, covering moist areas in the yard, or as a low hedge. Its native habitat includes wet meadows, fields, pastures, bogs and marshes, as well as perimeters of ponds and lakes. Replace invasive Spiraea japonica with this native!

Wildlife Value: Flowers produce abundant pollen, but only small amounts of nectar. Karner Blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis), a rare butterfly, has been observed to nectar at the flowers of Steeplebush. Flowers are attractive to numerous pollinators including bees, flies, beetles, butterflies and moths. Host plant for caterpillars of the Sharp-Lined Yellow (Sicya macularia) and Spiraea Leaf-Tier Moth (Evora hemidesma). Birds eat the seeds.

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