Woody > Itea > Itea virginica > Itea virginica
Itea virginica
Virginia Sweetspire
Origin: Southern United States of America.
| Family |
| Saxifrageaceae |
| Genus |
| Itea |
| Species |
| virginica |
| Category |
| Woody |
| Type |
| Shrub (deciduous) |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 5a - 9b |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| 6 - 10 |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H4 - H7 |
| Height |
| 0.9 - 1.8 m |
| Spread |
| 0.9 - 1.8 m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| Landscape |
| Used in shrub borders, hedges and as a groucover. |
| Cultivation |
| Full sun to part-shade, prefers moist and slightly acidic pH. Not tolerant of dry soils and should be watered during droughts outside natural habitat. Can grow in areas with extremely poor drainage like swamps. |
| Shape |
| Mound shaped shrub growing to approximately 90 - 180 cm in height and about the same size in spread. |
| Growth |
| Medium |
| Pests |
| Tar spot possible. Chlorosis tends to develop if the soils pH rises above 7. |
| Habitat |
| Floodplain woodlands, margins of lakes/rivers and swamps. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description |
| Superposed buds and are above the axillary buds. Flower buds are cone shaped and tiny. Clumped at the tip of the stem and surrounding the stem for about 5 - 15 cm. |
| Leaf Description |
| Alternate leaf arrangement, the leaves are usually 3.8 - 10 cm long and 1.9 - 3 cm wide with a fairly glabrous leaf surface. |
| Flower Description |
| Extend in drooping, cylindrical racemes of about 5 - 15 cm the tip of the branch. Individual flowers composed of 5 long thin petals resting on some evolved, protective leaves that are elevated by a tiny stem. Flowers are fragrant. |
| Fruit Description |
| Capsule-like. |
| Colour Description |
| Foliage is medium to dark green and yellowish-orange and burgundy in the autumn. Flowers are white. Bark is a reddish-purple when exposed to sun. The fruit is green changing to a brown as it ages. |
| Texture Description |
| Fine and may change to medium on old wood or after secondary growth. |
| Propagation |
| Seeds are collected in late summer or early autumn, removed from capsule and stored in sealed, refrigerated containers. The seeds are tiny and germinate best if sown thinly in flats in a greenhouse. Semi-hardwood cuttings taken in late summer or early autumn will root. |
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