The Right Place
Spireas grow in full sun to medium shade, but full sun encourages more flowers. They do best in moderately acidic soil (pH 6.0 to 6.5). If soil is too alkaline (pH over 7.0), chlorosis may cause their leaves to yellow for lack of certain soil nutrients. Use a pH meter to determine if your soil is too alkaline.
Planting Nursery Stock
Plant spireas in the spring or fall. Fall is the best time for planting if you have a choice. Because they have fibrous root systems, they transplant easily. Plant on an overcast day or late afternoon on a sunny day, to protect the shrub from the hot sun so it can recover well from transplant shock. Keep the soil around the roots moist until planting time.
With a shovel or spade dig a saucer-shaped planting hole about twice the diameter of the rootball and just as deep as it, or its container, is tall. Remove the container and loosen any roots matted from confinement, and set the shrub in the hole. If it is wrapped in burlap, remove as much burlap as you can after it is positioned. Take care that the top of the rootball is even with the surrounding ground. Fill the hole with just the plain soil you dug out of it, firm it around the shrub stems and water well. Spread a layer of mulch to keep the soil moist and the area weed free.
Amendments In Planting or Transplanting
There are a number of products at the garden center that will help your newly planted or transplanted plants deal better with the stress inherent in the planting process. All healthy plants have beneficial fungi, called mycorrhizal fungi, living on their roots. You can buy these valuable additions to your plant’s ecosystem. See the file describing Using Micorrhizae When Planting.
In addition, there are a number of products such as seaweed, compost tea, and beneficial soil microbes that when added to the planting process will help your newly established plants get going faster. See the file New Technology In Plant Growth Activators
For more information see the file on Planting Shrubs. For planting tools see Hand Tools For Digging and Planting in Yardener’s Tool Shed.
