This plant was left by a previous tenant, who attempted to kill everything she couldn't take with her by pouring salt over them. We thought it was dead, but it came up with a few sprigs and leaves last summer, and then this year has tripled its size. At first I thought maybe it was a type of spirea, but can't match up both the bloom and the leaves to a picture. I know I've seen it somewhere, but can't place a name to it.
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Kathy
It's a Spiraea--hopefully someone else will know the exact species/cultivar.
That wasn't very kind of her to dump salt on everything! Most often you can't get anything to grow there again without replacing the soil. Grumpy lady. :( Anyway, I don't know what it is, but I'm going to watch this because I want some if it's that tough!
Might be 'Gold Mound', it has pink flowers and gold leaf coloration and is a fairly common one. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/80627/
Wow, that was quick! You all are right on it! Actually, the not so nice lady was an 'ex', so that should say enough on that subject. But, it survived, and I'm hoping it just gets bigger every year. I was afraid the salt would stunt it, but we'll see. According to the plant files, it should grow to 3-4', and right now it's probably about 15" at its highest. It's growing in a part shade/part sun spot, so I guess I won't move it.
Thanks again, all. Like someone said recently - "Dave's is the bomb"..! LOL
Have a great weekend!
Kathy
Its called a "golden spirea". Its actually a shrub. It gets pink flowers in the late spring through early summer. If you cut off the spent flowers it may bloom again. I live in NYC suburbs and have several different spireas in my yard. They work well for me because the deer do not like them. They are quick growers. You can control the shape and size by pruning them after they flower if they get too large and unruly. I actually started a new shrub from seedlings that re seeded around my yard. The only downside for me is they are not evergreens ( they loose their leaves in the winter months). I have some in full sun and one in partial sun. They both are doing fine.
jdj10r10,
Thanks, It looks alot better than it did last year, unfortunately, I didn't take pics last yr as we didn't think it would come back. It only had a few leaves and branches, looked pretty puny. It's probably doubled it's size since last fall. Should I just feed it or is there something I should sprinkle on the ground around it? Or just let it be?
Sprinkle some good compost like Black Kow or Ladybug around the shrub and let that gentle add micro-nutrients to the soil for the rest of the season. I wouldn't try to use anything other than compost for another year - you don't want to encourage too much top growth while the root system is still recovering from the salt attack!
Looks like this plant is a real survivor!
Thanks, I wasn't sure what to do with it, but sounds like I need to 'baby' it for awhile. I wanted to start a compost bin anyway, looks like I better get busy!!!
Have a great week!
