Spiraea japonica 'Bumalda'
Common name: 
Bumald Spirea
Pronunciation: 
sp-i-REE-a ja-PON-i-ka
Family: 
Rosaceae
Genus: 
Spiraea
Synonyms: 
Spiraea × bumalda
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Deciduous shrub, 2-4 ft (0.6-1.2 m), wider than tall.  Leaves alternate, simple, oval-lanceolate, 2.5-7.5 cm long, apex pointed, base narrowed, teeth mostly double, sharp, purplish when young, than green.  Flowers are white to deep pink, borne in 10-15 cm flat-topped clusters (corymbs).
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 3      According to Dirr (1998) it was described in 1891 and Kew Gardens received it from Switzerland in 1885.
  • S. japonica 'Bumalda' is the result of a cross between S. japonica 'Albiflora' and S. japonica.  The RHS Dictionary of Gardening lists both parents as members of S. japonica, although at one time S. japonica 'Albiflora' was considered a separate species, S. albiflora.  In this previous view Bumald Spirea was regarded as a hybrid between two species and named S. × bumalda.  In the U.S., but apparently not in Europe, it is sometimes marketed under this older name as are associated cultivars.
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