Spiraea japonica 'Bumalda' (syn. Spiraea × bumalda ) Rosaceae
Bumald Spirea sp-i-REE-a ja-PON-i-ka
- 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.