Meet the Virginia Sweetspire
Virginia Sweetspire | Itea virginica
How do you know it’s me?:
I am a small-medium woody shrub. I am typically deciduous, but may be semi-evergreen in warmer climates.
Oftentimes, I have an arching or mounding shape.
My blooms are long and white, like bottle brushes. They are lightly fragrant!
My flowers give way to tiny, brown, pointed, pepper-shaped seed pods.
My leaves are alternate and have a pointed oval shape, with finely serrated edges.
I have smooth woody stems that mature into a burgundy-brown color.
How big do I grow?: 3’ - 8’ height and 3’ - 6’ spread.
Sun-seeker or shade-lover: Full sun to part shade. I like some shade in hotter climates.
Where I prefer to put my roots: I am tolerant of many soil conditions, but prefer moist, slightly acidic, fertile soils. I am tolerant of periodic wet soils.
Hardiness: Zone 5-9.
Original home: I am native to the southeastern US, and west towards Texas.
Colors: White flowers (some cultivars have a pinkish hue) and orange-red or maroon fall color.
When I bloom: Late spring into summer.
Wildlife friends: Butterflies and other pollinators love my flowers, and songbirds are attracted to my seed pods.
More Info: While the Virginia Sweetspire can appear scraggly and weedy during the colder parts of the year, it has very interesting, sweet-smelling flowers during the blooming season, which cascade off reddish-colored stems like dainty, white tassels. The fall color - ranging from orange-red to red-maroon, is a stunning bonus feature!
A member of the Iteaceae (Sweetspire) family.
This plant will easily spread, sending shoots off the root system to form colonies.
Pruning after flowering, in late summer, will help to rejuvenate stems for the next year…but remove a food source for the birds.
In warmer climates, this plant will retain some of its leaves through the winter.
A good plant selection for a natural area (where spreading isn’t a problem), in a rain garden, along the banks of a waterbody, and at woodland edges.
