White Meadowsweet vs Early Blue Violet - TreeTime.ca

White Meadowsweet vs Early Blue Violet

Spiraea alba

Viola adunca

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

White Meadowsweet
Early Blue Violet

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.

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.

White Meadowsweet Quick Facts

Early Blue Violet Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 2a
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 0.1 m (0.3 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: low growing, clump-forming
Spreading: seeds - medium, rhizomes - medium
Suckering: high
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: rhizomes, fruit, seed poisonous to humans
Fall colour: golden yellow
Flowers: white, small
Flowers: purple to blue-violet
Bloom time: mid spring to early 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, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, YT, NT
Other Names: mead wort, meadowsweet, narrowleaf meadowsweet, pale bridewort, pipestem
Other Names: dog violet, hookedspur violet, sand violet, western blue violet