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Steeplebush

Spiraea tomentosa

Found in bogs, wet meadows. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

69
Strong

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
2–4 feet
Spread
3–5 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 4 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 6 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
Summer
Fruiting season
September to October

Recorded in 2 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 117 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Care

  • Keep the soil moist.
  • Optional bloom tip: Removing faded flower clusters can encourage more blooms.
Care sources
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

40CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Spiraea

  • Acronicta noctivagaNight-Wandering Dagger, Burglar Dagger
  • Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
  • Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
  • Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
  • Archips purpuranaOmnivorous Leafroller Moth
  • Automeris ioIo Moth
  • Biston betulariaSalt-and-Pepper Geometer, Cleft-Headed Looper
  • Cecrita guttivittaMaple Prominent, Saddled Prominent
  • Cenopis reticulatanaReticulated Fruitworm Moth
  • Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
Show all 40
  • Crocigrapha normaniNorman's Quaker
  • Euchlaena irrariaLeast-Marked Euchlaena
  • Euchlaena johnsonariaJohnson's Euchlaena
  • Euchlaena marginariaOchre Euchlaena
  • Euchlaena serrataThe Saw-Wing
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
  • Glena cognatariaBlueberry Gray
  • Harrisimemna trisignataHarris's Three-Spot
  • Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
  • Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
  • Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
  • Metarranthis duariaRuddy Metarranthis
  • Metarranthis obfirmariaYellow-Washed Metarranthis
  • Morrisonia evictaBicolored Woodgrain
  • Olethreutes permundanaRaspberry Leafroller
  • Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
  • Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
  • Paonias excaecataBlinded Sphinx, Blind Eyed Sphinx
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Pero morrisonariaMorrison's Pero
  • Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
  • Probole amicariaFriendly Probole
  • Prochoerodes lineolaLarge Maple Spanworm Moth
  • Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
  • Rheumaptera prunivorataFerguson's Scallop Shell, Cherry Scallop Shell
  • Schizura ipomaeaeMorning-Glory Prominent, Checkered-Fringe Prominent
  • Smerinthus jamaicensisTwin-Spotted Sphinx
  • Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
  • Xanthotype urticariaFalse Crocus Geometer
  • Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
6BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Spiraea

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Spiraea

  • Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Rosaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–8b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Pink or purple
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
September
Fruit ends
October
Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Flower color · “Pink or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
  • Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox, USDA PLANTS differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox, USDA PLANTS differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Hardiness · “Zones 3a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “2–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
  • Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
  • Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
  • Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Spread · “3–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as

Hardhack

Conservation status

Alabama rankS1
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

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Growing cautions

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources