Spirea Neon Flash #2

If you need a splash of color without any hassles, try Neon Flash Spirea (Spiraea japonica 'Neon Flash'). With electric, cherry-red flowers, this plant is all about color.

The pretty blooms deliver red-hot color from spring through fall. Be sure to include the blooms indoors, too. They make very special cut flower arrangements!

Even the lance-shaped leaves show off in spring with a bright reddish hue. The foliage turns dark green for summertime. In fall, they deepen into a wonderful mix of deep burgundy and purple.

Neon Flash will bloom again and again in successive flushes throughout the growing season. Speed things up with a quick little cleanup of spent blooms with a pair of garden snips.

You'll appreciate this pretty workhorse in your garden. Neon Flash stays compact and grows in a cute, rounded shape. It fills out all the way to the ground with a full and lush form.

Butterflies love the clusters of red flowers. Their flat-topped shape makes an easy landing pad for them to land on to find plenty of nectar.

Fast-growing and full of color, the Neon Flash Spirea is a must for your yard this year. It easily creates a colorful display with blooms over a very long period. And it is hardy and carefree with few problems to be concerned about.

How to Use Neon Splash Spirea in the Landscape

Highlight your established plantings offset by a neat row of Neon Flash Spirea. You'll bring them back to life, and fall in love with them all over again.

Rely on the neat mound of rich green foliage to support larger shrubs that may get a big leggy at the base. Neon Spirea is a natural facer plant to run as a low hedge anywhere you want a pop of color.

Create a solid hedge by planting 2 feet apart on center. You'll measure from the center of one to the center of the next.

Brighten up wide, open spaces with a mass planting of Neon Flash Spirea. Use a staggered, zigzagging planting pattern 2 feet apart on center. Mulch between plants and keep new mass plantings weeded until the plants grow together and touch.

Include several Neon Red Spirea in your vegetable garden or near fruit trees in a backyard orchard. They will perform beautifully to entice pollinators for a plentiful harvest.

#ProPlantTips for Care

You'll get the best color with full sun exposure. Ensure they receive at least 6 hours of direct sunlight.

They'll do best in well-drained soils that are rich in organic material. If your planting site has a heavy soil type that retains water, simply create a raised bed for planting to improve your drainage. Use your native soil, and add a few handfuls of organic compost.

Give plants and containers a moderate amount of water on a regular basis. Use a thick layer of mulch to keep the root system cool.

Each year in late winter to early spring, prune your Neon Flash Spirea back by half. This will make them a uniform size before the flushes of flowers begin.

Deadheading encourages new bloom sooner. After the first round of flowers, doing a light prune to snip off spent blooms will reward you with more blooms right up until fall.

Fertilize in early spring with a good, organic, slow-release fertilizer. Use the application rate listed on the label.