Bridal Veil Spirea

Yesterday I bought 5 Bridal Veil Spirea - not really knowing what I was buying - now I have no idea what to do with them. IMy intention was to put them along a chain link fence. Although my neighbor has a hedge along that fence that he does upkeep - although from my side not very appealing. Also the upkeep from my side through the fence is unmanagable. My concern is that after researching it seems that this spirea can get 9 feet tall. I think they will be beautful but will it grow so tall and so wide that my neighbors may be annoyed with it also if it were over his hedge. There is anohter corner of the yard agaisnt anther neigbors chainlink that it would be great to hide but will it be unmanageble for her. I want to insure whatever I put in my yard against a fence also appeals to my neighbor. Any advice of where to plant and how to maintain would be appreciated. thank you!

silvercharm,

i did exactly that are our old house.... actually the spirea was there, and we put up a fence for the dog.... but we kept ours trimmed to "fence height".
it was quite managable.

I have had Bridal Veil Spirea both here in town and out at the ranch. Never did it get 9" tall even unpruned. But I am really a believer in keeping shrubs properly pruned and Spirea lends itself nicely to pruning right after blooming. I remove the oldest branches from well-established bushes each year at ground level but never more than one third of them. I also shorten any unruly growth at that time. If pruned before blooming you will not get any flowers that year. Also if you wait too long after blooming, you will drastically reduce the next year's flowering if you get any at all. Bridal Veil is worth having!

Thanks alot - I feel a lot better about my purchase!

Silvercharm72 you have picked a gorgeous shrub! Think you will be very happy with them.
I am hoping that you won't mind me tacking on a question of my own here. I recently saw a mature Bridal Veil Spiraea in full bloom and fell in love with it. Took me bit of research to find out that was exactly what it was. The owner offering it first made it sound like offering the whole shrub but have since learned meant a part of it and not sure what best way to do that. Know this isn't landscaping question per se. I received great information on how to move the whole plant but no response on the part of it yet. Am thinking softwood cutting but not sure. If is, any hints on best way to do that or any hints on best way to start? If anyone knows would really appreciate sharing either here, thread I started under beginning gardening or D-mail. Thanks so much!

I inherited a Bridal Wreath Spirea (if not the same, they must be pretty close) hedge when I bought my house 5 years ago, and it's truly stunning in spring. It's not the tidiest looking hedge for the rest of the year, especially since, as prairiemom says, it blooms best when it's pruned just once a year after flowering. My hedge is free-standing and I've been a bit tentative with pruning, so it's now well over six feet high and a good four feet wide. Given that my front yard isn't terribly large I was planning on really pruning it back this year, but I'll remember the "no more than a third" rule -- thanks.

Against a fence it will be lovely, and it's so easy to care for. My neighbours have a spirea against our back fence, and the growth to my side is minimal. Just keep in mind when you're pruning that the arching branches will grow a foot or so beyond where you've pruned by the fall and you'll be good.

I dont have the Bridal Wreath Spirea, but I do have 2 different types of spirea, a golden spirea and another one I don't know the name of-it grow taller than the golden spirea and is greener.
I love mine. They do well in poor soil conditions, and change to oranges and reds in the fall.

I just recently transplanted mine and it moved effortlessly, and did not even go into shock!
I have never seen them planted as a hedge, but I imagine they will grow that high! I have to trim mine back every year to about 13 inches high or they grow like crazy.

Hi there 83021, I got an email from you, I think it was you via Daves Garden, it was askng how to take cuttings from this very plant, I returned the answer to the same address, so maybe it has gone missing into cyber space or still yet to be passed on to yourself, have you looked on your email in box, I hope I have the right question, let me know if you never recieved it, you also mentioned Roses, does that ring any bells for you. I was under the impresion also that you were transplanting the whole shrub and roses, WeeNel.

This is an old thread i just wanted to give both questions additional answers.

When you prune the spirea do the pruning make certain you do CANE PRUNING as recommended by PRAIRIEMOM. The important thing with this plant is many people prune it wrong. Try not to mow it down "edward scissorhands" style in order to make it smaller, it leads to bare spots, dead wood and a nasty shape. Cane pruning involves cutting off the oldest branches right next to the ground. You can actually do this after it flowers or in early spring before the buds break open. It is hard to figure out at first, but pruning this method keeps things small while giving them a nice flowing natural shape. When i lived in St. Paul I had neighbors who abandoned pruning these things altogether. If you have the space to let them go wild, they will achieve a stunning appearance in your hard.

As for 81302, side divisions from spirea do really well. They grow into the same kind of amazing shrub as the original. In my experience they often do better than purchasing a bucket of bridal veil from the nursery. They are transplanted usually from a nearby neighbor in this manner so they are best established for the exact region. They have less root shock, they are not root-bound, and they have shown they can handle your exact climate.

For the rest of you, if you get the chance to plant bridal veil, move it away from the wall or fence. Plant it on the edge of a gentle slope or the top of a retaining wall and let it grow freely. You will be amazed how much they start to weep when they are mature.