People can sometimes have high expectations from plants.  They want things that can take a wide variety of light conditions, and they want it to look good year round.  People also expect plants to take drought or flood, and they want things that are easy to grow.  Of course let's not forget many want to have pretty flowers too.  Although it is fairly easy to find plants that fit one or two criteria, it can be very difficult to find a plant that fits many.  One such plant is our native Itea virginica, commonly known as Sweetspire, Virginia Sweetspire, Itea or Virginia-Willow (though it is not a Willow at all).
 
     In spite of its botanical and common name, Sweetspire grows naturally from New Jersey south to Florida, over to East Texas and up to Missouri.  In the wild it can be found in wet areas, swamps and along freshwater streams.  It is one of the few plants that can grow in both full sun and shade, as well as anything in between.  In a garden setting Sweetspire can tolerate wet soil with less than ideal drainage and once established, can be remarkably drought tolerant.  It can handle cold weather that falls way below 0° and it can take the worst of our summer heat with no signs of stress.  That is what I call a very flexible plant.

 
     Plants need other recommendations beyond easy to grow and hard to kill to merit a place in our garden since those two qualities describe most of our common weeds.  However, Sweetspire is also a very beautiful plant.  In May, the white flowers appear at the end of the branches and hang down in 2-6" long, tapered, fragrant clusters.  The flowers are more numerous in full sun, but they are still very showy in shadier areas.  The foliage emerges in the spring as a nice bright green, but quickly darkens as the season progresses.  In the fall of the year the real show begins with the leaves turning a rich red-orange to maroon.  This color will often last for months, and if the temperatures stay mild enough the colorful foliage will remain until spring.

 
     There are several varieties of Sweetspire commonly available.  Perhaps the most popular is 'Henry's Garnet', which has both superior fall color (red-purple) and flowers, which are 6" long.  'Henry's Garnet' will grow about 3-5' tall (maybe larger) by 3-7' wide.  'Little Henry' is a more compact grower, staying 3-4' tall and wide.  Its flowers will be 3-4" long and it also has a good red-purple fall color.   Another nice, but less common variety is 'Merlot' which get 3-31/2' tall with a dense twiggy habit and red fall color.
 
     No matter which variety you select, all Sweetspires are fairly maintenance free.  If they ever need pruning, do it immediately after the flowers have finished blooming.  Any other time of the year you risk cutting off the flower buds.  The first summer you have them, don't push the drought tolerance.  Make sure they get plenty of water, and the next year you can ignore them more.  There are very few insects that bother Sweetspire and they tend to be fairly disease free.  They are also resistant to deer, but remember deer will eat anything if hungry enough. 
 
     Although Sweetspires can stand alone as specimen shrubs, I think they look better mixed with other plants.  I especially like to see them at the edge of a wooded area where their white flowers will stand out and their foliage will mix well with the other colors of fall. If you are interested in trying a Sweetspire, we are usually well stocked both in the spring and the fall.  If we happen to be out, they are fairly easy to get, even on short notice.  You should do your garden a favor and try one of our showiest and easiest to grow natives.
 
Les Parks