Birch Leaf Spirea vs Yellow Mountain Avens - TreeTime.ca

Birch Leaf Spirea vs Yellow Mountain Avens

Spiraea betulifolia

Dryas drummondii

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Birch Leaf Spirea
Yellow Mountain Avens

Birch Leaf Meadowsweet is a small, rounded shrub, reaching 3 to 4 feet high.

In the early summer, white flowers emerge with dark green foliage. Come fall, birch-like leaves turn a kaleidoscope of red, orange, and purple adding seasonal interest.

Native to Japan and Eastern Asia, this dwarf shrub attracts butterflies and is an excellent option for the front row of a shrub border.

Yellow Mountain Avens is a native perennial wildflower with bright yellow buttercup-like blooms. The nectar-rich flowers attract a variety of pollinators, including bees and butterflies. By thriving at higher elevations, it helps sustain pollinator populations and provides one of the earliest sources of nectar and pollen in alpine habitats.

As a nitrogen-fixing plant, Yellow Mountain Avens enriches soil fertility and supports the growth of surrounding vegetation. It forms dense, spreading mats of evergreen foliage that act as a groundcover and help stabilize soil. Often among the first species to establish in disturbed alpine sites such as glacial outwash or landslides, it is well-suited for alpine revegetation, erosion control, naturalization, and ecological restoration projects in harsh, rocky environments.

Birch Leaf Spirea Quick Facts

Yellow Mountain Avens Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 1b
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: mat-forming, creeping
Spreading: stolons - medium, seeds - low
Suckering: none


Foliage: evergreen, leathery
Flowers: yellow, buttercup-like, nodding
Bloom time: spring to summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, ON, QC, NB, NL, YT, NT
Other Names: birch leaf meadowsweet, shiny leaf spirea, white spirea
Other Names: drummonds dryad, drummonds mountain avens, yellow dryad