Double Play® Candy Corn® Spirea

A Colorful Spirea Shrub With Three-Season Foliage

Double Play® Candy Corn® Spirea is a compact ornamental shrub grown for its bold foliage color and easy-care landscape performance. The show starts in spring when new growth emerges candy apple red, then matures to bright pineapple yellow. Fresh new growth continues to appear in warm orange-red tones, giving the plant a layered, multi-color look through the season.

This is a strong shrub for homeowners who want color year-round. Use Double Play® Candy Corn® where foliage contrast matters: near evergreens, along walkways, in foundation beds, at the front of sunny borders, or in mass plantings where the red, orange, and yellow tones can brighten the whole bed.

Purple Flowers Add a Second Color Moment

In late spring to early summer, Double Play® Candy Corn® Spirea produces clusters of purple to dark pinkish-purple flowers that stand out beautifully against the yellow foliage. The flower display is not the only reason to grow this shrub, but it adds a colorful bloom moment at just the right time of year.

The flowers also attract pollinators, including bees and butterflies. After the first bloom, a light trim can encourage a flush of fresh, colorful foliage and may support additional scattered blooms. That combination of foliage and flowers gives this spirea more interest than a shrub grown for bloom alone.

Compact Size for Foundations, Edges, and Walkways

Double Play® Candy Corn® Spirea naturally forms a tidy, rounded mound, making it easy to fit into everyday landscapes. It typically grows about 18 to 30 inches tall and wide, depending on pruning, climate, and growing conditions. That compact size makes it especially useful for small-space color.

Plant it along a walkway, in front of taller shrubs, around a mailbox, in a sunny foundation bed, or in groups for a low border. It also works well in mixed beds with boxwood, hollies, hydrangeas, weigela, roses, ornamental grasses, catmint, lavender, coneflowers, sedum, and black-eyed Susans.

Low Maintenance With Smart Pruning

Double Play® Candy Corn® Spirea is naturally rounded and does not require frequent pruning to maintain its shape. If you prefer a very neat mound, prune lightly in early spring before new growth begins. This helps refresh the plant and encourages strong new foliage color.

Because it blooms on new wood, spring pruning is safe. You can also trim after the flowers fade to encourage another flush of colorful new growth. Avoid heavy pruning in extreme heat, and remember that this variety can be less heat-tolerant than some other spireas, so steady moisture and afternoon protection may help in hotter regions.

Best in Sun, Good Drainage, and Everyday Garden Soil

Double Play® Candy Corn® Spirea grows best in full sun to part sun. More sun usually creates the strongest foliage color and best flowering, while part sun can be helpful in hot climates. It adapts to most garden soils as long as drainage is good.

Once established, this spirea is drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, and rabbit-resistant, making it useful in low-maintenance landscapes. Water regularly during the first growing season, mulch lightly to protect the root zone, and avoid wet sites where the soil stays soggy. With the right placement, it becomes an easy color shrub for front yards and sunny garden beds.