How to Grow and Care for Virginia Sweetspire

Virginia Sweetspire Planting & Care

This shrub is easy to grow and maintain. Here’s how to plant and care for Virginia sweetspire:

• Grow in a well-drained, humusy soil with medium to wet moisture levels.
• Give it a full sun or partial shade location; however, it offers the best shape, flowers, and fall color when grown in full sun.
• Plant in spring or fall; if dividing, do the cutting in fall.
• Space the plants 4 to 6 feet apart.
• Transplant into a hole twice as wide and as deep as the root ball; backfill and tamp down with well-draining soil.
• Thrives in hot weather temperatures when it has moist soil.

Light

Virginia sweetspire grows best in full sun but will tolerate part shade. Shady conditions may limit flower production and muffle the autumn color. Warmer climates call for more shade.

Soil

Plant this shrub in humusy, well-drained, somewhat moist soil. It prefers a slightly acidic pH but grows well in various soils. Although these bushes tolerate wet ground and clay soils, they will perform best in well-drained soils.

Water

Water these shrubs quite often when they are young and getting established, then weekly when they mature (one inch per week). They will tolerate short periods of drought but perform best when they receive regular water. Hot climates call for more water.

Temperature and Humidity

Virginia sweetspire grows quite well in very hot conditions, with plenty of water. In such climates, plant it along woodland edges, where it gets partial shade, which will help the plants stay cool and thrive. In the northern part of the hardiness range, winter cold may cause dieback of the branch tips.

Fertilizer

Feed these plants each spring with a balanced granular fertilizer mixed into the soil. Additional feeding during the growing season is not necessary.

How to Identify Virginia Sweetspire

Virginia sweetspire can be easily identified by several characteristics:

• Flowers: Tiny, pleasantly smelling flowers in a floral spike that can be 2 to 6 inches long
• Stems: Green or reddish-purple stems; sun-exposed stems turn reddish
• Leaves: Green leaves are oval, alternating on a stem with finely toothed edges; leaves turn red, orange, and gold in fall
• Fruit: Looks like a small, woody capsule

Cultivars of Virginia Sweetspire

Several popular cultivars of Virginia sweetspire are available, including:

• Itea virginica ‘Henry’s Garnet’: This option has larger flowers and better autumn color than the species variety.
• I. virginica ‘Little Henry’: This cultivar is a dwarf version, growing only about two feet tall. It has better flower and fall foliage colors than the other species.
• I. virginica ‘Merlot’: This is another dwarf, growing to about three feet. It has a very deep red autumn color.
• I. virginica ‘Sarah Eve’: The flowers have white petals with pink pedicels, giving the appearance of a pink flower. It has dark green foliage with a purplish cast and grows four to six feet tall and wide.
• I. virginica ‘Beppu’: Cultivated in Japan, this compact form grows about 3 feet tall.
• I. virginica ‘Bailteaone’: This hybrid is a cross between “Henry’s Garnet’ and “Sarah Eve,’ growing up to 4 feet tall and wide, featuring dark red leaves in fall.

Pruning

You can prune Virginia sweetspire to shape or control its size, but pruning is unnecessary. Because it blooms on old wood (previous year’s growth), pruning should be done immediately after blooming so that the plant can develop the wood necessary for next year’s blooms. If you prune it in the spring, you risk removing the flower buds.

In USDA growing zone 5a (the northern end of its range), a bush will likely experience several inches of winter dieback on the tops of the branches (they turn a tan color). Such dieback in winter means the loss of some of the flower buds that produce blooms in spring.

If you do not want the bushes to spread, stay ahead of any root-suckering that may occur. Root suckering is most prevalent with shrubs planted in wet ground.

Propagating Virginia Sweetspire

Virginia sweetspire is a rare type of shrub that divides easily. Thanks to its prolific suckering habit, it can be propagated by cutting its root ball into sections and stem cuttings.

By root division:

1. Use a sharp spade and cut away a section of the root ball around the edge.
2. Replant the root ball in a new location (autumn is the best time to propagate by root division).

By stem cuttings:

1. Use sterilized pruning snips to take a stem cutting from late May to early September.
2. Replant the stem cutting in a suitable growing site and water to moisten the soil. They will take root in about four weeks.

How to Grow Virginia Sweetspire From Seed

Virginia sweetspire can be grown from seed. Here is how:

1. Collect the small brown seed pods from the plant during the late summer or early fall. Open them up and remove the seeds.
2. Store the seeds in a sealed container tucked away in the refrigerator until spring rolls around.
3. Use a well-draining potting medium and seed trays to germinate the plants indoors.
4. Bury the seed one inch in the soil and keep it moist.
5. When the seedling is robust, plant it in a small container and let it establish a root system.
6. You can move the roots to the landscape once they are in place.

Potting and Repotting Virginia Sweetspire

It is entirely possible to keep a Virginia sweetspire in a container for the first season. When the root system is well-established and trying to fight its way out of the container, it’s time to plant it in the landscape.

Overwintering

Virginia sweetspire does well during the winter, though those in colder climates might see some dieback of the shrub’s tips during the harsh cold. It will come back strong in the spring.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

This plant is quite hardy and has no serious pests to contend with. Even deer tend to leave it alone. However, it might develop flea beetles or leaf spot. Neem oil can be used to handle flea beetles, while leaf spot can be remedied with neem oil, baking soda solutions, copper fungicide, or copper and pyrethrins.

How to Get Virginia Sweetspire to Bloom

Bloom Months

Virginia sweetspire tends to bloom in the summer (May to early June), with the most showy flowers appearing in autumn.

How Long Does Virginia Sweetspire Bloom?

Virginia sweetspire blooms throughout the summer and into fall. In winter, the branches turn tan, and the sweetspire starts to die back.

What Does Virginia Sweetspire’s Flowers Look and Smell Like?

The flowers look like white bottle brushes with tiny flowers making up the floral sprays (racemes). The flowers have a pleasant, sweet smell.

How to Encourage More Blooms

Consistent moisture in well-draining soil is a must. Sunlight is also a requirement, as these shrubs need full sun and slightly acidic soil to achieve the best results.

Caring for Virginia Sweetspire After it Blooms

If you need to prune your Virginia sweetspire, do it after the plant blooms.

Common Problems With Virginia Sweetspire

Chlorosis

When the soil pH creeps above 7.0, Virginia sweetspire is prone to developing chlorosis. This results in a lack of chlorophyll, which in turn causes leaves to lose their color and fade. Severe cases can kill the plant. To reverse this problem, it’s important to make the soil more acidic. Work in a bit of pelleted sulfur or organic matter, such as sawdust or leaves.

Leaves Turning Yellow

Due to a lack of chlorophyll, leaves can lose their color, which will eventually lead to them yellowing and dying.