White Meadowsweet vs Yellow Hedysarum - TreeTime.ca

White Meadowsweet vs Yellow Hedysarum

Hedysarum sulphurescens

Spiraea alba

CUSTOM GROW

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Yellow Hedysarum
White Meadowsweet

Yellow Hedysarum is a native perennial wildflower recognized for its clusters of pale yellow to creamy-white, pea-like blooms. Flowering from late spring into summer, it adds subtle colour to grasslands, roadsides, and open woods while attracting a variety of pollinators, especially bumblebees.

As a nitrogen-fixing plant, Yellow Hedysarum enriches soils and supports the growth of surrounding vegetation. Its deep taproot and extensive root system make it drought-tolerant and effective at stabilizing soil. Grizzly bears are known to dig up and eat the nutritious taproot. Its resilience and ecological value make it well-suited for restoration, naturalization, pollinator gardens, and erosion control projects.

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 Hedysarum Quick Facts

White Meadowsweet Quick Facts

Zone: 2b
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: ascending to upright
Spreading: seeds - low
Suckering: high


Fall colour: golden yellow
Flowers: creamy yellow, in dense spikes
Flowers: white, small
Bloom time: late spring to summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Native to: AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Other Names: sulphur hedysarum, sulphur sweet-vetch, yellow sweet-vetch
Other Names: mead wort, meadowsweet, narrowleaf meadowsweet, pale bridewort, pipestem