A great alternative to Japanese spiraea, meadowsweet attracts many pollinators and features a profusion of white flowers July through August and beautiful yellow foliage in the fall.  Meadowsweet thrives in moisture and is usually found in marshes, disturbed habitats, meadows and fields, shores of rivers or lakes, swamps, and wetland margins.  It is ideal for rain gardens, along streams or ponds, or in informal gardens with regular watering.  
 
Plant Characteristics:
Grows 3’- 6’ tall and wide
 
Prefers full sun to part shade.  Will not bloom in full shade.
 
Grows best in average to wet, acidic, and sandy soils. 
 
Fruit is brown and capsule shaped.
 
Leaves are green and hairless with sharply serrated edges.
 
Wildlife Value:
Spirea are a host plant for 68 species of Lepidoptera larvae, including the white-marked tussock, Io and Isabella tiger moths. (Isabella tiger moth caterpillars are commonly referred to as woolly bears.) The flowers produce nectar and pollen that attract honey bees, bumble bees, halictid bees, masked bees, andrenid bees, wasps, ants, syrphid flies, small butterflies, long-horned beetles, and ctenucha virginica moth. Meadowsweet twigs are eaten by rabbits, hare and deer.  Ruffed grouse are said to consume the buds.
 
Medicinal, Edible, and Other Uses:
Although considered edible, meadowsweet should be treated cautiously and is more recognized as an herbal medicine used to help with various maladies. In particular, the flower head contains salicylic acid, a betahydroxy acid that is used for pain, inflammation and exfoliating skin cells.