Tawułais a small, frost-resistant shrub that sheds its leaves in winter. During flowering, it is showered in large numbers with small star-shaped flowers, which makes the tawuła very charming. In Poland, the most popular isJapanese tawułaandVan Houtte tawułaIt is worth paying attention to other interesting species andtawuła varieties See which of them will work in your garden, what it looks likegrowing and caring for the tawułaand whether it is difficult on your ownpropagating the tawułagrowing in the garden. Here are the secrets to abundant flowering and proper tawula cutting.
Tawuła gray - Spiraea cinerea
Tawuła - varieties
Tawuła(Spiraea) is planted in gardens and parks for ornamental purposes. Apart from its charming and numerous flowers, the habit of these shrubs and the nicely colored leaves of some varieties are also appreciated. Depending on thevariety , the flowers can be white, pink or red. The advantages of these plants are low soil requirements, the possibility of growing in sun and partial shade (except for varieties that require full sun), as well as frost resistance (in the case of some tavulas even very high). The vast majority of tawula varieties tolerate urban conditions.
Tawuła varietiesare divided into early-flowering varieties, which flowers can be admired from early spring to early summer, and late-flowering varieties, whose flowers appear from mid to late summer. Apart from the flowering time, they also slightly differ in terms of cultivation and care.
Early flowering varieties
Early Tawuła(Spiraea arguta) - in this species of Tawuła small white flowers, gathered in corymbs, appear from mid to late spring (April - May), covering 20-30 cm sections of shoots. The leaves are pointed, vividly green. The plant grows 1.5 to 2 m tall and has an extensive habit with overhanging shoots. The popularity of cultivating this species of tawuła is limited due to its low frost resistance. In very cold winters, this shrub may unfortunately freeze.
Tawuła Brzozolistna(Spiraea betulifolia) - it is a highly frost-resistant, compact, dwarf shrub with a height and width not exceeding 1 m. The leaves are cut, similar to birch leaves (hence the name of this species ) while white flowers, gathered in flat inflorescences, appear in June. It can grow in full sun and partial shade, and in a variety of soil types. It is worth paying attention to thevariety of the Birchwood Tawuła'Tor' (slightly shorter, reaching only 70 cm in height, recommended for rebates and low hedges) and 'Tor Gold' (it has golden foliage and is exceptionally resistant to adverse conditions).
Gray Tawuła 'Grefsheim'(Spiraea cinerea) - this shrub grows up to 2 m high, and its shoots are picturesquely overhanging. Gray-green leaves turn yellow in autumn, and snow-white flowers, appear in April, even before the leaves appear. I recommend it due to the high tolerance to various soils and air pollution in the city, frost resistance and the possibility of cultivation in both sun and partial shade.
Nippon tawuła 'Snowmound'(Spiraea nipponica) - a sprawling shrub up to 2 m wide and 1.5 m high. It blooms profusely and the white flowers almost completely cover the shoots of this tawuła from May to June. It grows best in fertile and moist soils, but it is resistant to urban conditions and winters well. It can grow in full sun and partial shade.
Plum-leaved Tawuła(Spiraea prunifolia) - this tawuła is perfect for a Japanese-style garden. Its characteristic feature is thin, arched shoots that look very attractive.Green leaves turn orange and red in autumn, and white flowers appear quite early in spring, from April to May. However, it requires full sun and a warm, sheltered position. Young specimens should be covered for the winter, as they may freeze. In older plants, the risk of frost is much lower.
Van Houtte's Tawuła - Spiraea vanhouttei
Van Houtte Tawuła(Spiraea vanhouttei) is one of the most commonly grown species of early flowering tawuła. It is a branchy shrub that grows up to 2.5 in height. It blooms white from May to June. The flowers are gathered in hemispherical corymbals. Van Houtte's tavern tolerates urban conditions well, can grow in sun and partial shade, and is highly frost-resistant. The 'Gold Fountain' variety with slightly limited growth and bright yellow, shiny leaves is especially appreciated. For good leaf coloring, however, it must grow in full sun.
Late flowering varieties
Tawuła Billarda(Spiraea billardii) - an interesting species of Tawuła that easily reproduces by suckers, and therefore recommended for unformed rows, planting in large groups, for rehabilitation tree plantings. Highly frost-resistant, withstands drought and high air pollution, and has low soil requirements. The crimson-pink flowers can be admired from mid to late summer. Upright habit, height up to 2 m.
Japanese Tawuła(Spiraea japonica) - a species of tawuła that has by far the largest number of varieties, of which over 10 of them have become popular with us. The vast majority ofJapanesevarieties are fully frost-resistant, tolerate urban conditions well and can grow in full sun and partial shade.Japanese short varietiessuch as 'Albiflora', 'Crispa', 'Japanese Dwarf', 'Little Princess' and 'Walbuma' are excellent ground cover plants.A very interesting low variety of the Japanese tawuła is 'Golden Princess', which has intense yellow leaves throughout the season, and its pink flowers can be admired from June to July. It tolerates various types of soil, but requires full sun exposure.
TheJapanese tawuła 'Goldflame'variety is noteworthy, reaching up to 80 cm in height and 1 m in width. It is a small, dense, semicircular shrub. Its leaves look interesting - the young are coppery-orange, then turn green-yellow. Rosewood flowers appear quite late, from August to September. It is therefore one of the most recent flowering tavernas.
Of theJapanese tawułait is worth paying attention to theJapanese tawuła 'Macrophylla' , growing up to 1.5 m in height. Young growths and apical leaves are red, while older leaves are green, and scarlet in autumn. Pink flowers gathered in small umbels can be admired from June to July.This shrub has low soil requirements, tolerates pruning and urban air pollution well, but for nice leaf color and abundant flowering it must grow in full sun.
Tawuła - cultivation and care
Planting and soil requirements
Tawuła is best plantedin spring or autumn, although bushes sold in containers are suitable for planting throughout the growing season.Growing tawuławorks best in fertile and well-drained soil, but not drying too quickly. For light soils, choose varieties of tavula that can cope well in such conditions. The hole where the bushes are planted should be covered with compost.
Tawula cultivation site
Most tavulas tolerate a little shade, but these plants grow best in full sun. In a sunny position, we can count on more abundant flowering, and in the case ofvarieties of tawuła with colorful leaves , also better color of the leaves.
Cutting the tawula
A very important procedure intawuła careis the proper cutting of this shrub. It should be noted here thattawula cutting date varies depending on the flowering dateAll newly planted tavulas should be trimmed at a height of 20 cm above the ground to allow them to sprout well. Then, early-flowering, that is in spring, cut after flowering, cutting out planting, damaged or broken shoots, which overly thicken the bush. Shortening all the shoots by 1/3 of their length stimulates the plant to flower.
The cutting of late flowering tawas , i.e. in summer, is performed in early spring, shortening the shoots so as to remove all last year's growth.
Tawuła - reproduction
Tawuła propagationis done in two ways - through semi-woody cuttings taken in summer and root suckers separated in autumn or early spring.
Semi-woody cuttings, however, require ideal rooting conditions - a warm place in partial shade, high substrate and air humidity, as well as systematic airing when kept under cover.For this reasonpropagation of tawuła from semi-woody cuttingsnot always successful.
It is a bit easierto reproduce tawuła from root suckers , however, we must remember that it is only possible for species forming such suckers. This method is perfect for propagating Billard's tawd.
Some people also try to breed tawułas, e.g. Japanese tavula, by dividing the root ball in early spring.
