Van Houtte Spiraea (Spiraea x vanhouttei 'Pink Ice')

The Van Houtte Spiraea (Spiraea x vanhouttei) is a hybrid plant, meaning it doesn’t have a single “native” region in the way a species found in the wild does. It was created by crossing two different Spiraea species.

* **Spiraea x vanhouttei** is a hybrid between *Spiraea trilobata* and *Spiraea cantoniensis*.
* *Spiraea trilobata* is native to **northwestern China**.
* *Spiraea cantoniensis* is native to **China and Japan**.

Given this parentage, the *genetic origins* of *Spiraea x vanhouttei* lie in **East Asia, specifically China and Japan**.

However, since it is a hybrid, it was *bred* and *developed* in Europe. Therefore, while its genetic roots are East Asian, it’s more accurate to say that its “native” development region is **Europe**, specifically in the mid-1800s by Belgian horticulturalist Louis Van Houtte.

**’Pink Ice’ is a cultivar of Spiraea x vanhouttei**. Cultivars are selectively bred for specific characteristics, so like the species, the ‘Pink Ice’ cultivar doesn’t have a single native region either, but rather was *developed* through horticultural practices wherever the breeding took place.