Bayscape blog 10/19/10
Itea a Great Idea
By Judy DeFiglio

Pardon the play on words but Itea virginica (Virginia Sweetspire) really is a great idea for your landscape. This native shrub is a stand out in any garden at any time of the year. Itea is a multi-stemmed plant that has a suckering growth habit. Three to five foot tall and up to six foot wide, with gracefully draping stems, this plant can stand alone or be used in mass plantings. It is an easy plant to grow because it will take sun or shade, and wet or dry.

Tons of fragrant white flowers appear in June on six inch long racemes and persist into July. The dark green leaves turn a brilliant burgundy red in fall. It is a deciduous plant, but the leaves hang on until December. Even then this plant has more to offer as the red stems add to the winter interest of your garden and look great against the snow.

One of my favorites, I have planted this in several locations in my landscape. Each site has different conditions: some irrigated, some not, some shade, some sun, sometimes it’s left to spread freely and sometimes my husband (Edward Scissorhands!) has attacked it with the hedge trimmers. It has thrived in every case. I have never fertilized this plant and have always had lots of flowers. Who could ask for anything more?