White Meadowsweet vs Water Arum - TreeTime.ca

White Meadowsweet vs Water Arum

Calla palustris

Spiraea alba

CUSTOM GROW

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Water Arum
White Meadowsweet

Water Arum is a native perennial wetland plant known for its showy white oval sheaths (spathe) that surround a yellow-green, cylindrical flower spike (spadix). It has large, oblong, heart-shaped leaves on stems that rise above the water from shallow, spreading rhizomes. The blossoms are followed in late summer by tiny, pear-shaped fruits that ripen to bright red, adding ornamental interest to wet habitats.

Water Arum provides food for birds and small mammals that eat its berries, and its flowers attract pollinators. It can tolerate cold climates and forms colonies in shallow water and saturated soils. It is well-suited for ecological restoration, riparian planting, naturalisation, and habitat projects in wet and shaded environments.

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.

Water Arum Quick Facts

White Meadowsweet Quick Facts

Zone: 1b
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Light: shade, partial shade
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: wet
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: colony-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - low
Suckering: high

Toxicity: toxic if ingested

Fall colour: golden yellow
Flowers: white sheath around and yellow spike
Flowers: white, small
Bloom time: spring to summer
Berries: red, in clusters
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, PE
Native to: AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Other Names: bog arum, swamp lily, wild calla, wild dragon
Other Names: mead wort, meadowsweet, narrowleaf meadowsweet, pale bridewort, pipestem