Trick or treat!
Ah, candy corn.
Personally I think it's a waste of refined sugar. I'll take sour gummy worms
over the overly sweet little pseudo-kernels of corn any day. But each to his
own, I suppose.
I do, however, like Double Play® Candy Corn™ Spiraea. This plant's name really
captures its color transformation: the colors of the actual candy
are completely artificial, but the plant's hues are 100% natural and
gluten-free.
It begins with fire engine red spring leaves, then matures to pineapple yellow. The new growth is orange red. If that's not enough for you, the flowers are dark magenta-purple. All of that color, and in something as adaptable as a spirea! What a treat!
Double Play® Candy Corn™ Spiraea japonica grows 1.5-2' tall and wide. Like other spireas, it is very adaptable and deer resistant. It will grow in full sun or part shade, and is hardy to USDA Zone 4.
If you're looking for something with a little less flash, consider one of the more sedate members of the Double Play® series. Truthfully, all were selected for their outstanding foliage and flowers, so none of them is a wallflower. But Double Play® Pink and Double Play® Red spireas have more of a burgundy spring flush and darker summer color (although their flowers are outrageous!). The most subtle one in the group is Double Play® Blue Kazoo, which is a completely different color palette: cool blue green foliage and white flowers.
Plant of the Week is written by Jane Beggs-Joles
