Itea

By Barry Fugatt

When I wade through a sea of nursery greenery, I look for beautiful plants with a tough disposition.

            Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) is such a plant.

            Its late spring flowers are gorgeous and sweetly aromatic.  They gracefully hang in tight 4 to 6 inch long, rope-like clusters (racemes).  No one can pass an Itea in full bloom and not be taken by its unique beauty.  Flowering lasts two to three weeks in my Tulsa Garden.

            Itea is very adaptable regarding its light requirements.  It easily tolerates our hot, Oklahoma summers even in full sun locations.  However, it’s equally content growing in semi-shady locations.

            Itea is a small to medium size deciduous shrub.  Look for the cultivar, ‘Henry’s Garnet’.  It’ a superb selection from the Swarthmore College campus in Pennsylvania.  This tough and gorgeous selection is winter hardy to a -20 degrees F and it’s well suited to Oklahoma growing conditions.  Here’s more good news:  it’s rarely, if ever, bothered by insects or disease.

‘Henry’s Garnet’ grows to 4 to 5 feet tall and wide, making it a great choice for mixed shrub borders, entry gardens and foundation plantings.  It’s also a fantastic choice for naturalizing in moist areas of the garden.  Occasionally, nurserymen stock ‘Little Henry’, a smaller version of ‘Henry’s Garnet’.  ‘Little Henry’ appears to be equally tough and beautiful.  It’s mature height and spread is only three feet.

Itea’s colorful foliage is one of its greatest assets.  Its glossy dark green in summer changing to a deep scarlet ad maroon in late fall.  You’ll love the way it maintains its showy foliage late into the fall.  Its fluorescent red leaves often cling well into December and occasionally into January during mild winters.

            Itea is an amazingly easy plant to propagate.  Late spring and early summer cuttings root readily, even without the use of a rooting hormone.  Another quick and easy way to secure new plants is to peg to the ground a low hanging branch.  Roots form where the branch makes contact with the soil.  Sufficient roots will form in five to six weeks to allow the digging and transplanting of the rooted branch.

            Clearly, Itea is a beautiful and trouble-free plant well suited to Oklahoma gardens.  It transplants readily from containers throughout the year.  Give it a try in your garden.

Plant Profile:

Common name:

Virginia sweetspire, Itea

Varieties to look for:

Henry’s Garnet

Little Henry

Color:

Foliage glossy green-summer

Scarlet and maroon-fall

Blooming Period:

4 to 6 inch long white spikes in May

Size:

4 to 5 feet height and spread

When to plant:

Container plants throughout year

Soil:

Virtually any soil

Including wet sites

When to prune:

After spring bloom