Welcome to This Month in the Garden! There is a new flowering shrub in town, and it is called Spirea Big Bang 'Candy Corn', scientific name Spirea japonica. While this shrub produces wonderful deep pinkish-lavender blooms in summer, in this designer's opinion it's all about the ever-changing medley of foliage! This new cultivar was developed by Dr. Tom Ranney of North Carolina State University and has become popular for several reasons, one of them being that it is considered sterile and non-invasive.
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| Spirea Big Bang 'Candy Corn' Summer Foliage |
Cold hardy to USDA zones 4-8, Double Play 'Candy Corn' thrives best in full sun and a well-drained soil and offers an ever-changing array of foliage color, from bright red to candy corn orange to yellow-green. Summer foliage color is determined by exposure. Leaves are darker in part shade, and a brighter yellow in sunny exposures. Pollinator friendly blooms offer another round of color in late spring and early summer. This dwarf form of Spirea stays compact and rounded at a height of 18-24 inches high by wide at maturity and is compact enough to grow in a container. I was also surprised to see this variety getting spring buds before any of the other Spirea.
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| Spirea Big Bang 'Candy Corn' Late Winter/Early Spring |
This cultivar is adaptable to a wide range of soil conditions, including clay and is drought tolerant once established. With its small size, little to no pruning is required, making it
perfect for low-maintenance gardens. This flowering shrub is also deer and
rabbit resistant.
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| Spirea Big Bang 'Candy Corn' Spring Foliage |
Could there be a more perfect cultivar of nandina? Compact, sterile, colorful and grows in practically any soil???! Thanks for sharing, and happy April, Lee!
ReplyDeleteYes! It is perfect in every way. I love how they just keep coming up with improved cultivars!
DeleteOh, very pretty. I love these multi-season beauties! Happy spring!
ReplyDeleteHappy Spring Beth! It is finally getting warm enough here to enjoy the garden from the outdoors!
DeleteI do love Spirea, that's a pretty one! Often I find that a preying mantis has attached an egg in one of my spirea, another bonus.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely an added bonus! I wonder if they have a preference for Spirea for camouflage and for its dense structure.
DeleteYour spireas are beautiful, Lee. I see them growing in tubs. Where do you store them? Are they hardy in your climate?
ReplyDeleteHi Nadezda. This cultivar is compact enough to grow in a pot and it stays out all year here in zone 7b. It is hardy down to zone 4. I am not sure what zone you are, but anything that overwinters outdoors in a pot should be cold hardy to one to two zones colder than yours.
DeleteOh, how lovely!
ReplyDeleteThese versatile beauties are simply delightful across all seasons!
Wishing you a joyful spring, Lee!