Spirea 'Grefsheim'
Spiraea x cinerea 'Grefsheim' · Rosaceae
Slender, arching branches are wreathed from end to end in tiny white flowers in early spring, before the small, grey-green leaves open.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid April to early May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around spirea 'Grefsheim'
The planner designed this bed around spirea 'Grefsheim' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why spirea 'Grefsheim' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Spirea 'Grefsheim' × 1, white
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 12, pink
- 3 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 4, purple
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 5 Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' × 3, purple
- 6 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 7 Lady's mantle × 3, green
- 8 Easter lily × 3, white
- 9 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 10 Persian fritillary × 4, purple
Why this plant
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does little bluestem.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Tatarian aster 'Jindai' (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From mid April to early May.
- Opens the season. In its first week nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 7 of the 8 groups (88%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Pink, purple, white and green make a cool, restful scheme. Purple is the colour seen most, on 5 of the 9 kinds grown for their flowers.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where spirea 'Grefsheim' goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A fountain of white for two weeks, earlier and more delicate than bridal wreath. It is not one of the invasive Japanese spireas. Prune after flowering.
- A fountain of white in early spring
- Informal hedges
- Mixed shrub borders
What to plant with spirea 'Grefsheim'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
Questions about spirea 'Grefsheim'
Does spirea 'Grefsheim' need sun or shade?
Spirea 'Grefsheim' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does spirea 'Grefsheim' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does spirea 'Grefsheim' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid April to early May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Late April to mid May |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 6 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Early April to late April |
| Zone 8 | Late March to mid April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should spirea 'Grefsheim' be planted?
4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 ft (150 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many spirea 'Grefsheim' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is spirea 'Grefsheim' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like spirea 'Grefsheim'?
Spirea 'Grefsheim' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Black chokeberry: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers early May to late May, medium leaves, not fine.
- Virginia sweetspire: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers early June to early July, medium leaves, not fine.
- Ninebark 'Dart's Gold': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late May to late June, medium leaves, not fine.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after spirea 'Grefsheim'?
Spirea 'Grefsheim' is over by early May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Blue false indigo: from late May to mid June, 4 ft tall.
- Lupine: from late May to early July, 3½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Peony: from late May to late June, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does spirea 'Grefsheim' look like in winter?
Spirea 'Grefsheim' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Spiraea
- Birchleaf spirea 'Tor' Spiraea betulifolia 'Tor'
- Bridal wreath spirea Spiraea x vanhouttei
- Japanese spirea 'Goldflame' Spiraea japonica 'Goldflame'
- Japanese spirea 'Little Princess' Spiraea japonica 'Little Princess'
- Japanese spirea 'Magic Carpet' Spiraea japonica 'Magic Carpet'
- Snowmound spirea Spiraea nipponica 'Snowmound'
- Spirea 'Ogon' Spiraea thunbergii 'Ogon'
- White meadowsweet Spiraea alba
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid April to early May; dense clusters; white
- Leaves
- Fine texture, deciduous; grey-green
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rosaceae
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.