Sweetspire
Itea virginica
Few flowering shrubs will take a wet spot; this one does, and colors best where the sun reaches it.
Light Grows in sun or part shade, though the color is strongest in full sun.
Water Puts up with wet ground, and asks little once it has settled.
Height 1.5 m
Spread 3 ft 11 in
Spacing 120 cm
Spacing & sowing
- Plant spacing
- 3 ft 11 in
- In-row spacing
- 3 ft 11 in
- Between rows
- 4 ft 11 in
- Square-foot density
- Not suited to SFG
Growing
- Type
- Shrub · Perennial
- Botanical family
- Mixed / other
- Sunlight
- Grows in sun or part shade, though the color is strongest in full sun.
- Watering
- Puts up with wet ground, and asks little once it has settled.
- Feeding
- A light feed in spring, and a compost mulch once a year.
- Frost tolerant
- Yes
- Flowering
- June
- Pruning
- Cut back once the flowers finish — next year's buds form on old wood.
Through the year
- Mar–Jun Bud Break
- Jun–Aug Flowering
- Aug–Nov Growing
- Nov–Dec Leaf Fall
- Jan–Mar Leaf Fall
Pests & problems
- Generally trouble-free No notable pest or disease problems when grown in the right conditions — one of the easy ones.
The Cottage Garden Companion — the gardener's herbarium at cottagegardencompanion.com