The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Tag Archives: Spirea ‘Snow Storm’

Blooms, Blooms, Blooms (And no more peony talk)

Posted on by Posted in Blooms .
Just to prove that I am not completely fixated on my peonies (that didn’t sound right), here are some other blooms in and about my garden during this fantastic time of year.
Veronica just about on its last legs but hoping the periodic deadheading will extend it a bit further: 

Physocarpus (Ninebark) ‘Diablo’ just started blooming and looks OK; I still value it mostly for the foliage:

Geranium ‘Brookside’ which I’ve been rather critical of in the past, looks good now that it is allowed to roam wild a bit:

Itea ‘Henry’s Garnet’ doesn’t blow you away in bloom, but it is reliable and performs so well in my native bed where it is consistently moist/wet:

I know I am going to enjoy Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ for years to come as six of these were planted just last fall as tiny plugs and they already look fantastic. Not to mention they are ignored by the deer and the rabbits and survived wet feet this past winter:

Blooms nice, the rest … not so much. I am losing it for Tradescantia (Spiderwort) ‘Sweet Kate’ so they better shape up soon or they are gone:

Penstemon ‘Husker’s Red’ just about to bloom in full; give it about a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10:

First blooms on Hypericum ‘Albury Purple’:

Spirea ‘Snow Storm’ … hmmmm … takes up space … blooms are “decent” … suppresses weeds since better than bare ground … guess she can stay:

Spirea ‘Snow Storm’

Posted on by Posted in Uncategorized .
As is the case with most of the shrubs and perennials I’ve purchased over the years, I picked up Spirea ‘Snow Storm’ on a whim. It was in the clearance section of my local nursery and for $3.99, I couldn’t pass it up. 
Spireas in general, are not the most exciting or unique shrubs and you see them everywhere here in New Jersey. But damn, they are always tough and reliable year after year and for whatever reason, the deer stay away from them. That’s enough for me to give them a proper home in my landscape.
I’m a sucker for white blooms so ‘Snowstorm’ was a no-brainer. I’ve seen the ‘Snowmound’ cultivar sold at almost all of the nurseries, but ‘Snowstorm’ was new to me. In the cart she went, no questions asked (or tags read). 
I’ve had this deciduous shrub for about three years now and last spring/summer (May 23rd to June 15th to be exact, after consulting my plant spreadsheet) she put on a nice little show:       

I really like the blue/green foliage on this spirea and while I’ve yet to see the true “snowstorm” of blooms, it fits nicely and casually into the landscape.
A few additional photos:
Blooms about to pop:   
And then the pop:
Just coming into bloom: 

Still looks good as the blooms fade:

A close-up of the faded blooms:

I have yet to deadhead any of the blooms so I cannot comment on the re-blooming capability of this shrub. I like the look of the faded blooms so for now, I’ll avoid removing any of the spent blooms.

Speaking of faded blooms (later into the summer/fall):  

I will say, I’ve yet to see any of the promised orange fall color as I’ve seen in many other photos. Maybe it will just take time and I’m willing to wait. Here’s all I’ve seen in terms of fall color to date:

Some other nuggets of info:

  • Mature size is about 4×4 so will work in most gardens large and small
  • Survives zones 4-8
  • Blooms on “new” wood so it can be pruned in late winter with the blooms not affected
  • Prefers full sun/partial shade and that is exactly where I have it situated. 

Anyone else have experience with this shrub? Tips?

John