White Meadowsweet vs Yellow Mountain Avens - TreeTime.ca

White Meadowsweet vs Yellow Mountain Avens

Spiraea alba

Dryas drummondii

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

White Meadowsweet
Yellow Mountain Avens

White Meadowsweet is a woody, deciduous shrub that begins to bloom in early summer with small white and pink flowers. Its foliage turns from a light green into an attractive golden-yellow later in the fall.

The White Meadowsweet, also known as Mead-Wort or Bride-Wort, is favored by birds and butterflies but is largely ignored by deer. They produce small brown berries in the summer, and while they are technically edible, they are not sweet and are more desired by wildlife.

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.

White Meadowsweet Quick Facts

Yellow Mountain Avens Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 1b
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: mat-forming, creeping
Spreading: stolons - medium, seeds - low
Suckering: high


Foliage: evergreen, leathery
Fall colour: golden yellow
Flowers: white, small
Flowers: yellow, buttercup-like, nodding
Bloom time: spring to summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, ON, QC, NB, NL, YT, NT
Other Names: mead wort, meadowsweet, narrowleaf meadowsweet, pale bridewort, pipestem
Other Names: drummonds dryad, drummonds mountain avens, yellow dryad