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Spiraea x vanhouttei is a splendidly practical small flowering shrub and spectacularly dull. Fortunately some
bright leaved bushy twigged sports are appearing that are prepared to be visually unruly in a genus that had previously
specialised in warm tea and brown cardigans. It is difficult to make a case for 'Pink Ice' that will receive a moments
consideration from the pastel herbaceous hordes who munch their way relentlessly through the countries garden tea rooms,
but they don't matter. Dinosaurs who persist in ignorance of their inevitable destiny. This is a sparkling confection of artificial colours, all fluff and dance rhythms pounding relentlessly and going nowhere. Eventually the Pastelistas will adopt it for their lavender gardens, cut back regularly to keep it fresh and surrounded with Campanula and purple onions. It will be accepted and fawned over like chilli-chocolate and terracotta paint. It's just the way of things, nothing remains shocking for long. Milan Havlis says: "This cultivar was selected by British breeder Peter Catt and introduced to the market in 1995 through his Liss Forest Nursery in Hampshire. Catt was among Europe’s most prominent growers of ornamental shrubs, renowned not only for his plant‑hunting journeys but also for a series of cultivars of his own, including Spiraea japonica ‘Golden Princess’ and the much‑loved Choisya × dewitteana ‘Greenfingers’, which we cherish for its large leaves, fragrant flowers, and excellent hardiness. Peter Catt was a long‑standing chairman of the woody plant trials committee at the Royal Horticultural Society, recipient of the Veitch Memorial Medal (1998) and the RHS’s highest honor, the Victoria Medal of Honour (2018). He also served as honorary president of the Liss Horticultural Society. He passed away in 2025, but his cultivars and nursery legacy live on and continue to shape modern horticulture. ‘Pink Ice’ is an ideal choice for gardens where you want to combine gentle elegance with ease of care. Thanks to its compact growth, it suits small front gardens, urban plantings, or as a lawn specimen. It looks striking alongside dark‑leaved shrubs such as purple-leaved varieties of Physocarpus opulifolius, or conifers that highlight its variegation. It can also be used in informal hedges and mixed borders, where it acts as a fresh splash of color, while in perennial beds it pairs beautifully with blue‑flowering plants such as catmints sages, or rudbeckias. Its frost resistance and soil tolerance make it suitable even for less experienced gardeners." |
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| 4th June 2012 | ||
