| Description | An extremely hardy, small shrub that is at its best in the spring and the fall. During this time of the year it lives up to its name "Gold Flame". Probably has been superseded by other newer gold leaf cultivars. |
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| Pronunciation | (spy-REE-ah) |
| Plant Type | All Plants, Shrubs Deciduous |
| Hardiness Zone | 3-8 |
| Sunlight | full |
| Moisture | average |
| Soil & Site | average |
| Flowers | flat topped pinkish flowers blooming in early June, flowers lose some of their luster because of the foliage being a light yellow green at the flowering time |
| Leaves | spring and fall foliage color is red, copper, orange and yellow, summer a light green, small serrated leaves, early to leaf out |
| Stems | very twiggy |
| Dimensions | Reaches 3-4 feet high by 3-4 feet in spread. Space 3-4 feet on center. |
| Maintenance | Most all of the Spirea x bumalda and japonica group needs to be pruned back on a 1-3 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 a few inches from 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 re bloom. |
| Propagation | cuttings, small plants can be found around the edge from the branches layering |
| Author's Notes | This plant may be over used but it still has merit because of its spring and fall foliage. During the summer it loses some value because of the yellow green foliage. I have used many of these in landscape but have changed to Goldmound Spirea. Very similar but more compact and has better foliage color. |
| Notes & Reference | #01-Manual of Woody Landscape Plants |
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