Meadowsweet

Spiraea alba Du Roi

Family: Rosaceae (rose)

Anna Fiedler, MSU Entomology

Meadowsweet

Bloom Period:
- Late,
- Mid-Season,
Growth Cycle:
- Perennial,
Growth Habit:
- Shrub,
Insect Type Attracted:
- Natural Enemy,
- Pollinator,
Light:
- Full,
- Partial,
Region:
- Northern Lower Peninsula,
- Southern Lower Peninsula,
- Upper Peninsula,
Soil Moisture:
- Medium,
- Wet
Height:
- 2-4ft

Natural enemies attracted

Highly attractive: Orius insidiosus.

Moderately attractive: Chalcidoidea.

Mildly attractive: Thomisidae, Salticidae, Cantharidae, Plagiognathus politus, Cynipoidea, Nabidae, Coccinellidae, Empididae, Carabidae, Braconidae, Sphecidae and Ichneumonidae.

Pollinators attracted

Moderately attractive: bees including yellowfaced bees, Andrenid bees, sweat bees, and bumble bees.

Pests attracted

Moderately attractive: Japanese beetles.

Mildly attractive: aphids, leaf beetles, lygus bugs, froghoppers, leafhoppers, thrips and weevils

Plant notes

Fragrant, airy, white flower clusters bloom at the end of branches from 2-4 ft tall. This shrub grows tall but remains narrow in stature when mature, and first bloomed in its third year of growth. Plants bloomed throughout August. This species was the third most attractive to natural enemies in the mid season, with over four times as many natural enemies as the grass control.

Habitat

This plant handles full sun to partial sun, and average to very wet soils. It occurs naturally in wet areas such as marshes, sedge meadows, edges of streams, shores, swamps and peatlands and may occur along borders of woods where it is moist.

Cultivation and management

Meadowsweet can be grown from seed, especially on wet sites (It flowers in the fourth year) or plug material (flowers in third year). Seed from this species is not reliable but meadowsweet does establish well from plant cuttings if planted in moist soil. This shrub looks best when planted in mass. A good choice for naturalizing moist, open sites.