Your Bride is gorgeous, I would leave it al' natural ;)

Sharon

Thanks Sharon, it's starting to look better. 2 years ago it looked like a big lightbulb. I wonder how big they get? It's pretty huge already. I'm starting to wonder if I should be collecting its babies and use those for that hedge I've been planning...

I have Bridal Wreaths - one is in front of the house so I have to prune it occasionally - nothing special, snip here and there and prune out some old wood. This year I will have to prune much harder as for the first time in 12 years it has suffered some substantial winterkill - I figured I'd wait until after the bloom to do a proper job.

Yours is quite lovely. Depth in photos can be deceiving but it looks like a peony is smack dab underneath the spirea? Will you need to prune the spirea to allow for the peony's growth?

Pudge - yes that's a Festiva Maxima under it. I have never counted but there are well over 15 of them all over my yard. They get no special treatment. There's another one at the left if you notice, right next to the nearly-deceased PLSC.

That's about what my PLSC looks like. It has never lived up to my expectations. Maybe that's a good spot for a Black Lace elder...

(No help with Spirea, btw - i don't have any!)

I remember reading somewhat that because Bridalwreath spirea has long arching branches (if you do trim) it's best to remove some of the older branches completely. That is, if you cut off some of the branches only halfway, you will lose that 'arching' look.

I had a Bridalwreath years ago but didn't let it grow to it's full potential because I removed it to build the deck. It was sort of neat - it tolerated a mostly shady spot, but the leaves grew bigger in the shade than the plant I had in the sun (I guess it was trying to get more light).

Glen