Birch Leaf Spirea vs Early Blue Violet - TreeTime.ca

Birch Leaf Spirea vs Early Blue Violet

Spiraea betulifolia

Viola adunca

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Birch Leaf Spirea
Early Blue Violet

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.

Early Blue Violet is a low-growing native perennial wildflower valued for its striking early-spring blooms. The flowers range in color from vibrant blue to deep violet, often marked with pale highlights and fine white hairs. They provide an important early nectar source for pollinators and serve as a host plant for several fritillary butterfly species.

It spreads by both seed and rhizomes, gradually forming small colonies. Its dark green, heart-shaped leaves add ornamental appeal, and the plant shows some resistance to deer browsing. Early Blue Violet is well-suited to naturalization projects and pollinator-friendly gardens, and has also been used in coastal butterfly habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest.

Birch Leaf Spirea Quick Facts

Early Blue Violet Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 2a
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 0.1 m (0.3 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: seeds - medium, rhizomes - medium
Suckering: none
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: rhizomes, fruit, seed poisonous to humans
Flowers: purple to blue-violet
Bloom time: mid spring to early summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, YT, NT
Other Names: birch leaf meadowsweet, shiny leaf spirea, white spirea
Other Names: dog violet, hookedspur violet, sand violet, western blue violet