Japanese name: ヤエコデマリ（八重小手毬） Scientific name:Spiraea cantoniensis f. plena
[Overview]
A deciduous shrub growing to 1.5 m tall.
The branches are thin and branching, and the tips often droop in an arch.
Young branches are dark reddish brown.
Leaves are simple and alternate, 1.5–5 cm long and 0.6–2 cm wide, rhombic-elliptic to lanceolate, with coarse serrations on the margin of the upper half of the leaf.
The underside of the leaf is tinged with white and the veins are conspicuous.
The leaf stalk is 0.2–1 cm long.
Hemispherical corymbs at the tips of short branches bear about 20 white double flowers.
The inflorescences are lined up along the branches, and the flowers bloom so profusely that they cover the plant.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by division or cuttings.
It prefers sunny, well-drained soil.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long spell of sunny weather and the soil becomes severely dry.
Apply organic fertilizer in winter, and after flowering place slow-release fertilizer on the soil as a thank-you fertilizer.
Flower buds form in autumn, so if pruning, do it as soon as possible after flowering.
Pests and diseases include powdery mildew and scale insects.
