Vanhoutt Spfraea is a hybrid shrub, a cross between two Asian species: S. cantoniensis x S. trilobata. Of arching habit, it attains a height of 1.5-2 m. The twigs are brownish, the buds small and pointed. It is covered with small flat clusters of white flowers in late May and the first half of June, the fruits maturing and splitting at the end of July.
This is a very decorative and profusely flowering shrub widely cultivated in the parks of western and central Europe. It is planted either as a solitary specimen or in groups in a shrub border.
It is found on the edges of forests, by the wayside and also in open woods, for it requires less light than the raspberry. It is especially fond of heavier and moist soils. In woodlands it often forms impenetrable thickets. It is usually propagated by means of natural tip layering. The dog rose is a shrub growing to 1.5-3 m in height with erect as well as arching branches.
The raspberry grows to 1-2 m in height with erect as well as arching shoots. The shoots are two-year growths bearing only leaves the first year, flowering and fruiting in the second and dying off by winter. Coloured brown, they are covered with soft spines. The whitish flowers appear in May and June.
Widespread throughout most of Europe, it grows in central Europe from lowland to mountain elevations up to 1000 m. It occurs in abundance at the edges of woods, in thickets on sun- warmed hillsides, by the wayside and in pastures. It is most plentiful in warmth-loving communities on dry, sunny banks. It requires abundant light and loamy soils, but does not need much moisture.
It is a sun-loving shrub that is completely frost-resistant and requires ample soil moisture. It is readily propagated by means of summer and winter cuttings. Very similar in habit of growth and flowers are the North American species S. tomentosa and S. douglasii, which have leaves with grey-felted underside.
