| Description | Dakota Charm is a small version of the iconic Gold Flame Spirea. |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | (spy-REE-a) |
| Plant Type | All Plants, Shrubs Deciduous |
| Sunlight | full |
| Moisture | average |
| Soil & Site | average |
| Flowers | flat topped pink inflorescence |
| Leaves | spring bronze with red ting changing to gold-golden yellow and than deeper golden yellow with red-bronze tones |
| Dimensions | 15-18 inches tall with a spread of 2-3 feet, mounded habit |
| Maintenance | All of the Spirea x bumalda and japonica group needs to be pruned back on a yearly or every other year cycle. If not they will become scraggly, and flower production will decrease. There are two good methods of pruning these. First is cutting the shrub flush with the ground. This is a good no brainier method and the plant will quickly recover with fresh, new growth. This method will set the flowering back, since the shrub has to totally regrow. Another method is using pruning shears, cut the shrub back about ½ in a shape that will resemble the natural form of the shrub and remove the old gnarly stems from the shrub. Flowering isn’t delayed as long as in the previous method. The earlier in the spring this is done, the sooner the plant will flower. One of my clients has me prune back these shrubs each year, since she likes the fresh, new growth of the shrub. Removal of the dead flower heads can result in a minor rebloom |
| Author's Notes | I have seen this shrub in plantings and it seems to be more compact than the iconic Gold Flame Spirea. |
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