Gold mound spirea companion plants help to balance the colors and texture of the spirea flowers while filling your garden with beautiful fragrances. Goldmound spirea, also known as Japanese spirea, neon flash spirea, or spiraea japonica, are rounded deciduous shrubs with golden yellow elliptical foliage in spring that become greener in summer.
The foliage, combined with this shrub’s small, flat, pinkish flowers, makes it perfect for borders, but it can brighten any landscape when combined with any of the plants listed below.
Contents
Types of Easy-care Goldmound Spirea Companion Plants
1. Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses are annual or perennial plants grown as grasses or actual grasses cultivated mainly as ornamental plants. These dramatic grasses are often hardy and come in various shapes, colors, and textures.
They also grow in either spreading or clumping forms, with most of them having showy flowers. Blue gamma, Japanese forest grass, Muhly grass, and fountain grass are some examples of good ornamental grasses you can grow with your spirea plants, in addition, they would even thrive together.
– Benefits
Ornamental grasses and spirea plants are perfect companions for each other. The swaying movement and rustling habits of ornamental grasses add an appeal to gardens when combined with the lovely foliage and flowers of compact spirea plants.
The foliage of ornamental grasses also changes throughout the year, so when grown next to spireas can give your garden different interesting undertones all year round. Ornamental grasses work as buddleia companion plants.
– Growing Requirements
Ornamental grasses have a range of growing needs. Some require moist, loamy, acidic, humus, or sandy soil. In contrast, others grow best in dry, clay, neutral, or alkaline soil. It all depends on the variety you choose to grow with your spirea.
However, one factor must be common with all varieties; the soil must be well-draining so that no water would stay in. Most varieties also need full sun to thrive, but some do well in partial shade.
2. Sedums
Sedums are commonly known as stonecrops because they have a habit of inhabiting rocky areas. These magical succulents, with thick, fleshy leaves and flowers that grow in clusters, are divided into low and tall-growing sedums.
Low-growing ones are evergreens with green, succulent leaves that spread like mats. At the same time, taller sedums bloom with tall, flat, star-shaped, deep, or light pink flowers that butterflies and bees love because of the rich nectar they contain.
– Benefits
Sedums create a magic carpet of brightly colored leaves and flowers that blend beautifully with spirea plants. They will also prevent weeds from growing with your spirea, and they can fight them.
In addition, this plant makes lovely companion plants because they are drought and heat-resistant and won’t give you any problems in the garden, which is a prominent benefit.
– Growing Requirements
Sedums are best planted in spring after the frost has passed. They grow best in loose, loamy or sandy, well-draining soil, as wet soil can cause root rot. Which is why you should be careful.
Most sedums do well in full sunlight for up to six hours daily, especially tall-growing varieties, but low-growing ones of this plant;s variety are ones that would prefer partial shade. As such, these plants are not thirsty, so they don’t require watering when they are established. But light weekly watering will do them much good when they are young.
3. Dianthus
Also referred to as “pinks”, dianthus plants are sweet-looking, hardy plants grown as annuals, biennials, or perennials. Their flowers come in lilac, red, white, purple or pink colors and have fringed ends that resemble those that have been shaped with pinking shears, which is where they get their name from.
Also note that these flowers make lovely cottage garden plants and have over 300 species, with carnations as the most popular specie.
– Benefits
Dianthus plants go well as neon flash spirea companion plants, making good ground cover plants and helping to prevent erosion. Their foliage also blends perfectly with those of spirea and also makes excellent deutzia companion plants.
The flowers of dianthus are scented, causing them to attract pollinators. They have grass-like, blueish-green or grayish foliage that is mildly toxic to pets and humans if ingested and cause skin irritation in humans.
– Growing Requirements
Dianthus are easy-to-grow plants and can tolerate a range of growing conditions. Nevertheless, they usually require at least six hours of full sunlight to bloom properly. However, also remember that they must also be planted in moist, alkaline, well-draining soil and watered weekly.
4. Junipers
Junipers are hardy coniferous evergreen shrubs with attractive ornamental foliage widely used to come up with fantastic landscape design ideas ranging from hedges, screens, or ground covers.
– Features
These plants don’t have a general growing habit as some can be low-growing ground covers while others can take on large pyramidal shapes. Their foliage gives off a strong scent and can take on many colors, from dark to light green, yellow, blue, gray, gold, or silver.
This is a stunning variation that you can add to your garden along with the beautiful spirea. However, young leaves have small needle-like forms which mature into scale-like leaves that bear male or female cones.
– Benefits
The dark-colored varieties of juniper plants create an excellent background for the brightly colored flowers of spireas. When planted together, junipers make them look more attractive. Junipers grow particularly well with bridal wreath spirea and provide a nice texture when grown as heavenly bamboo companion plants.
– Growing Requirements
Junipers are best grown in full sunlight, as any form of shade will cause them to have stunted growth. The soil they are planted in must be fertile, well-draining soil, but they can adapt to a range of soil types and can grow in any soil pH.
In addition, if you want the Junipers to grow in a healthy way, they only require regular watering when they are young. However, once established, they become drought-tolerant and can survive when you water it once or twice in a month.
5. Hollies
Hollies are unique, evergreen, or deciduous trees or shrubs that come in pyramidal, round, or weeping forms. They have simple, alternate, glossy, dark-green leaves that can be large and spiny or small and spineless.
– Features
The leaves create a contrasting visual with the various colors of berries produced by hollies. The colors include yellow, black, orange, white, pink, and blue, or the most common, red. Furthermore, their colorful berries are a common food source for birds and bloom with inconspicuous white flowers.
– Benefits
Hollies with spiny leaves can be used as barriers for spirea plants to prevent deer and other animals from entering to destroy them. Their lush, green leaves also create an excellent backdrop against the colorful spirea plants.
– Growing Requirements
Hollies are best planted in spring and can grow in full sun or slight shade. They are best planted in moist, nutrient-rich, loamy, alkaline, or acidic, well-draining soil. But again, under normal conditions, these plants are drought-resistant but require weekly watering in scorching climates.
However, you should note that hollies have separate male and female plants, and only the females produce fruits. Which means that, you would need to plant a female variety with a male one nearby if you want it to produce berries.
6. Coral Bells
Coral bell plants are hardy semi-evergreen perennials with a wide variety of them cultivated as ornamental plants.
– Features
This is primarily due to their small bell-shaped, often coral-colored flower clusters that grow on tall stalks and bloom in late spring. These elegant flowers can also come in red, pink, or white hues and contain nectar that attracts butterflies.
The foliage of these plants are beautiful, robust hounds in purple or bronze colors but can be hybridized to produce lime, gold, pink, or chocolate colors. The leaves can also be round, heart-shaped, ruffled, or variegated. With their striking foliage, these flower bells will bring versatility to any landscape.
– Benefits
The vibrant foliage of Japanese spireas blends seamlessly with the equally bright ones of Coral bell plants. Coral bell plants make excellent double play doozie spirea companion plants. They can even help provide the spirea shade.
When you plant these beautiful flowers, they are ones that will attract pollinators, which is what will make the garden grow even better, and
– Growing Requirements
Much like double play spirea plants, an improved variety of the goldmound, coral bell plants are low maintenance, easy to grow, and tolerate slight shade. They are best planted in moist, acidic to neutral, well-draining soil in fall or spring.
Although it can tolerate partial shade, this plant is best grown in areas where it can receive up to six hours of full sun. They need constant watering, especially during hot seasons, but do not leave the roots soggy as it can damage the plant.
7. Russian Sage
Russian sages are flowering herbaceous sub-shrubs with bold, smokey, attractive foliage. These hardy, low-maintenance perennials have small, showy, tube-shaped, light purple clusters of flowers that grow on tall, grayish stems.
Their foliage boasts long, greenish-grey leaves with serrated edges that release a fragrance similar to sage when crushed. However, Russian sage is not a type of sage but can be substituted for lavender as it can grow in areas where lavenders cannot, although they can be mistaken at times.
– Benefits
Russian sage provides lovely contrast for the pink flowers of spirea japonica. Their fragrant foliage leaves your spirea garden with a sweet aroma and is also perfect as Japanese boxwood companion plants.
– Growing Requirements
Russian sage loves heat and must be grown where it can receive full sunlight. They thrive in medium to dry, acidic or alkaline, well-draining soil, as moist or soggy soil can cause root rots. They are drought-resistant and don’t need to be watered once established. However, make sure that you provide proper watering, because they require regular watering as young seedlings.
Conclusion
Spiraea japonica is a very popular plant for landscape borders and screens, and you can never run out of options when trying to figure out what plants to grow with them. These plants are also easy-care, so you won’t have any issues growing them with your spireas.
- Spirea plants are best planted in full sun, so ensure you take note of the light requirements of the plant you choose to grow with them, as some prefer partial shade.
- Pick spirea companion species that complement the foliage colors of your spirea plants.
- Goldmound spirea plants are hardy in hardiness zones four to nine.
Try cultivating some of these plants with your spireas to have an explosion of colors and textures in your garden.
References
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/spiraea-japonica-gold-mound/
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/ornamental-grasses-and-grass-like-plants/
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/russian-sage-perovskia-atriplicifolia/
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