Double Play® Dolly™ Spirea

Double Play Spirea adds a pleasant shot of color throughout three of the four seasons. The fresh, new growth in spring is highlighted with reddish foliage. This foliage turns to a bright lime green for the summer. Frothy clusters of magenta flower heads bloom from late spring through summer, giving way to glorious fall foliage that rivals any tree in the landscape. The compact, mounding growth habit makes this shrub one of the easiest plants to care for in your garden.

Spirea shrubs are great for attracting beneficial pollinators. The nonstop blooming requires very little deadheading to produce loads of flowers for months. Double Play Spirea is noninvasive, producing beneficial, but sterile seed for birds to eliminate self-seeding. Hummingbirds and Butterflies are frequent visitors to spirea flowers, while deer and rabbits are rarely attracted to this hard-working foundation plant. Double Dolly is perfect for smaller garden beds or containers growing on a deck or patio.

Double Play® Dolly™ Spirea Care

Spirea will grow easily in almost any soil texture and fertility. Well-draining soil that stays consistently moist helps this shrub establish quickly. Full sun will help the Double Play® Dolly™ foliage keep its rich color, although a spot with shade early or late in the day does not reduce the blooming power of this deciduous shrub. Granular, slow-release fertilizer is best applied early in the spring as the foliage begins to break bud. An all-purpose formulation with a balanced NPK ratio will support foliage growth and flowers. Mulching with 2-3 inches of organic compost will also provide season-long nutrition while keeping the soil cool and suppressing weeds.

Pruning is easy with Double Play® Dolly™ Spirea. The masses of small flower clusters require little to no deadheading and will continue to bloom unaided. This spirea’s compact shape is naturally dense without requiring seasonal pruning. Prune only in the early spring if any branches show damage or death from the winter. Container-grown Spirea may need to be repotted early in the spring to refresh the soil and ensure that drainage remains excellent. Root pruning during repotting may help a shrub regain vigorous growth if it has slowed. Lightly cut back smaller roots from around the outside of the root ball and repot as soon as possible. 

Double Play® Dolly™ Spirea  Spacing

Double Play® Dolly™ reaches up to 30 inches high and wide, making it great for containers and the garden border. Space the shrubs 18 inches apart on the center if planting for an informal hedge effect or garden border edging. Spirea growing in a container will require a pot with at least a 12-inch diameter.