Birch Leaf Spirea vs Capilano Apricot - TreeTime.ca

Birch Leaf Spirea vs Capilano Apricot

Spiraea betulifolia

Prunus Capilano

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Birch Leaf Spirea
Capilano Apricot

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.

Capilano Apricot is a cold-hardy variety known for its sweet, juicy, full-flavored fruit. It produces white to pink blooms in early spring, before the leaves emerge, followed by golden-yellow, freestone apricots. They ripen from mid-July to early August and are well-suited for fresh eating, baking, wine, canning, and preserves.

The Capilano Apricot originated from three trees planted in Edmonton’s Capilano neighbourhood during the 1960s. As they began producing fruit, local fruit enthusiasts took notice and propagated the trees, with the southernmost becoming particularly popular. Though the original trees no longer exist, the Capilano Apricot remains a widely sought-after cold-hardy variety.

Capilano Apricot is generally considered self-pollinating, but planting with another variety for cross-pollination can increase yields.

Note: The early bloom time makes the flowers vulnerable to spring frosts, which can reduce or eliminate the fruit crop

Birch Leaf Spirea Quick Facts

Capilano Apricot Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 3b
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 8 m (25 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 6 m (20 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: spreading to rounded
Spreading: suckering - low
Suckering: none


Flowers: white to pink
Bloom time: early spring
Fruit: freestone apricots
Fruit size: 5cm in diameter
Flavor: sweet, slightly tart
Harvest: mid summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: birch leaf meadowsweet, shiny leaf spirea, white spirea