Spiraea alba – Meadowsweet

There are two species of Spiraea in our area, Steeplebush with pink flowers, and this one with white flowers. Steeplebush is the showier of the two, but Meadowsweet is the more common plant, probably because it is more adaptable to dryish soils. This makes it is a better plant for general garden use where a compact, deer-resistant shrub is needed. The flowers are attractive to a wide variety of pollinators and some have a bit of a pink tinge to them adding to the shrub’s attractiveness. There are two varieties, a wide-leaf and a narrow-leaf form – in our area, plants are the wide-leaf form, S. alba var. latifolia; the narrow-leaf form, S. alba var. alba is restricted mostly to the western part of New York. Host plant for Spring Azure butterflies.