Christmas Closure Notice: We will be closed from Friday 19th December and reopen on 6th January.
Spiraea Genpei (Spiraea japonica 'Genpei')
Overview
Spiraea Genpei is a captivating deciduous shrub that brings unique charm to any garden with its remarkable bicoloured flowers. This compact, hardy plant produces clusters of both pink and white blooms simultaneously on the same bush, creating a stunning two-tone display that's sure to be a conversation starter. Perfect for gardeners seeking something truly distinctive, this Japanese spirea variety combines easy care with exceptional visual appeal.
Key Features
Bicoloured Blooms: The standout feature of Spiraea Genpei is its ability to produce both pink and white flowers on the same plant, often within the same flower cluster. This creates a delightful patchwork effect that changes throughout the blooming season.
Compact Growth: Reaches a mature height of 0.5-1.5cm with a similar spread, making it ideal for smaller gardens, borders, or containers.
Long Flowering Season: Blooms from late spring through summer, with peak flowering typically occurring in early to mid-summer.
Attractive Foliage: Small, serrated green leaves provide an excellent backdrop for the flowers and turn warm autumn colours before dropping.
Growing Conditions
Sunlight: Thrives in full sun to partial shade. For the best flower colour contrast, plant in a location that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily.
Soil Requirements: Adaptable to most well-draining garden soils. Prefers slightly acidic to neutral pH (6.0-7.0) but tolerates a range of soil conditions.
Water Needs: Moderate water requirements. Once established, it's reasonably drought tolerant but benefits from regular watering during dry spells.
Hardiness: Fully hardy in the UK (RHS hardiness rating H5), tolerating temperatures down to -15°C to -10°C.
Planting and Care
When to Plant: Best planted in autumn or early spring when the soil is workable and temperatures are mild.
Spacing: Allow 1-1.5 metres between plants to accommodate mature spread and ensure good air circulation.
Pruning: Prune immediately after flowering to maintain shape and encourage next year's blooms. Remove about one-third of the oldest stems annually to promote vigorous new growth.
Feeding: Apply a balanced, slow-release fertiliser in early spring. A light mulch around the base helps retain moisture and suppress weeds.
Garden Uses
Mixed Borders: Excellent as a mid-border plant, providing structure and seasonal interest alongside perennials and other shrubs.
Specimen Planting: Makes a striking focal point when planted individually in a prominent position.
Group Planting: Plant in groups of three or five for maximum impact in larger gardens.
Container Growing: Suitable for large containers on patios or terraces, where its compact size and long flowering season can be fully appreciated.
Wildlife Value: The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects, making it an excellent choice for wildlife-friendly gardens.
Seasonal Interest
-
Spring: Fresh green foliage emerges, followed by developing flower buds
-
Summer: Peak flowering period with spectacular pink and white blooms
-
Autumn: Foliage turns attractive yellow and orange tones
-
Winter: Bare stems provide subtle structural interest
Companion Plants
Pairs beautifully with other spring and summer flowering shrubs such as deutzia, weigela, and mock orange. Underplant with spring bulbs like daffodils and tulips for early season colour, and complement with summer perennials such as hardy geraniums, catmint, or lavender.
Why Choose Spiraea Genpei?
This remarkable shrub offers gardeners the perfect combination of reliability and uniqueness. Its bicoloured flowering habit is genuinely unusual in the gardening world, yet it maintains the robust, easy-care nature that makes spiraeas so popular with gardeners of all experience levels. Whether you're creating a cottage garden, contemporary border, or simply want a plant that never fails to impress visitors, Spiraea Genpei delivers consistent performance with minimal fuss.
Buying Shrubs from Jacksons Nurseries
At Jacksons Nurseries we sell a variety of shrubs both evergreen and deciduous with a variety of flowering times throughout the year. At certain times of the year our shrubs you buy from us may not look like the images shown on our website when deciduous leaves have fallen, the shrub has finished flowering or has been trimmed back.
Some leaves on evergreen shrubs can be damaged in winter by frost or harsh winds but in spring new leaves will readily replace those damaged. This is quite normal on many evergreen varieties and is preferable to plants grown with excessive protection that show cold shock once planted out and establish less satisfactory initially.
Availability: Stock availability figures are provided as a guide only. There is a delay between orders being placed and the plants being gathered by our pulling team. During this time it may be possible for a member of the public to purchase these plants from our Garden Centre, while this is rare it is a possibility and we will notify you of any problems as soon as possible. This figure may also include plants that have not yet be flagged as unsaleable.
Pre-order: Pre-order times are given as a guide only and may vary dependent on the growing season. Orders containing Pre-ordered products will be shipped as a single order when all items become available. Large orders may be part shipped, please contact us on 01782 502741 or email sales@jacksonsnurseries.co.uk.
* Please Note: Shrubs in 20 litre pots and above might require a pallet delivery starting at £79.99 per pallet. Depending on the exact pot size and height it may be possible to get approximately 5 plants per pallet at no extra cost. The maximum height we can dispatch on a pallet is 2.0m, this includes the height of the pallet and pot.
Shrubs are deciduous or evergreen woody plants, and often provide fragrant flowers, berries and foliage. They are good for structural framework, and they can provide a wonderful shelter and food source for wildlife.
Planting and Conditions
Container grown shrubs can be grown at any time of year. It is a little known fact that shrubs planted in the autumn and winter will be easier to look after than those planted in the spring and summer, because they will have time to establish and become hardy in the cooler months.
Plant the shrub at the same depth as it was in its original pot. Planting too deeply can result in root and stem rot.
One of the biggest causes of death in new shrubs is drought stress, so keep it well watered until it’s established.
Make sure you loosen the soil prior to planting. Most shrubs are tolerant of most soil types as long as it is fairly well draining.
Most shrubs will grow happily in containers, but they will be much more demanding on feeding and watering than shrubs in the ground would be. They will also need potting on every couple of years so that they don’t suffocate or become stunted in their pot.
Aftercare and Pruning
Once established, shrubs generally do not require much water. However, at first they need careful, frequent watering and should not be left to dry out.
Shrubs in the ground are generally not demanding and in most cases, annual feeding with general purpose fertilizer will suffice. Shrubs in containers may need more feeding; usually from early spring until late summer.
Shrubs also benefit from mulching in order to supress weeds, conserve moisture and provide vital nutrients. Mulch also greatly improves soil conditions. Shrubs can be mulched in late winter, after fertiliser has been applied, but it can be mulched through autumn to late spring as long as the ground is damp.
All shrubs benefit from dead-heading once spent flowers become apparent. Rhododendrons and Lilac especially benefit from the removal of dead flowers.
Some shrubs may show signs of reverted growth or ‘sporting’. This is where random shoots of different leaves associated with the plant’s parentage begin to appear. Most commonly this is where plants with variegated leaves sprout pure green growths instead of variegated ones.
To control reversion, remove reverted shoots promptly to discourage them. Reverted shoots are usually much more vigorous than the variegated ones, and thus should be completely pruned out and cut back into wood containing variegated foliage.
Potential Issues
Although shrubs are usually very robust garden plants, they can sometimes start to decline with no apparent or obvious reason.
This will start with browning leaves, which could indicate plant stress due to lack of water or waterlogging, an establishment failure or, in the worst case scenario, honey fungus. Another cause of leaf browning is a high salt content in the soil. This could be a natural occurrence, especially if you live near the ocean, or it could be from over fertilisation.
To remedy a high salt content, cut back on fertiliser and step up your watering regime for the next few weeks. If you live by the ocean, this will be harder to remedy—but stepping up your watering will help to wash some of the salt away all the same.
| Size | Availability | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
In stock
|
£9.99 |