Dig into Plants: Virginia Sweetspire

Virginia Sweetspire

Other Common Names: Virginia Sweetspire, Itea, Virginia Sweet Spire, Virginia Willow, Tassel-white

Scientific Name: Itea virginica

Native to Alabama: Yes

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Learn More About...

Basic Plant Information

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I am a vasuclar plant with woody stems above ground, so I am shrub.
I do not keep leaves year-round in colder climates and keep my leaves year-round in mild climates, so I am semi-evergreen.
I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial.
I can grow 4-8 feet high and up to 3-6 feet wide.

Ecological Benefits

This plant provides food for:

Butterflies

Other Pollinators

Native Bees

Hummingbirds

Other Birds

It is great for controlling erosion, particularly on the banks of creeks, rivers, and lakes due to its tendency to colonize and form thickets by suckering.

Maintenance Notes

Leaves are varying shades of red, orange and gold in autumn often persisting on the plants until early winter.
Most effective in massed plantings, as single plants tend to be scraggly.
If pruning, do so right after flowering or in spring – prune to remove the oldest, thickest stems.
Remove suckers if you want to limit its spread.
When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds. Water should reach all roots.
Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves.
Requires moist to wet soil at all times.

Moist to wet soil at all times: water three times per week.

Habitat Requirements

This plant prefers:

Part Sun/ Shade
(2-6 hours of sun per day)

Prefers moist to wet soils at all times

Well-drained, Sandy, Loamy, Clay, Acidic, or Moist Soil

Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification

Wikimedia – Famartin

LEAF DESCRIPTION

Dark green; 1-4″ long and 1 1/4″ wide; glabrous (smooth) above and can be slightly pubescent (hairy) below; turn varying shades of red, orange and gold in autumn until early winter but are completely shed when temperatures fall below 15 to 20 ° F; stems can be green to dark burgundy.

Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF)


Shape: Eliptic	Margin: Serrate

Arrangement: Alternate	Form: Simple

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FLOWER DESCRIPTION

3-6-inch long bottlebrush-like clusters of fragrant, tiny, showy white flowers with 5 petals that droop with the arching branches; flowers open from base to tip so that the plant appears to bloom for a long time; flower buds will be produced on the current season’s shoots by the end of summer and will open in spring of the following year.

Flower Shape Chart (JPG)


Color: White	Shape: Stellate (star-shaped)	Bloom Months: Mar – Jun

Wikimedia – Omar Hoftun

SEED DESCRIPTION

Plant spreads by:
Seeds and suckers (sprout of new growth at the root or base of the plant)
Produces new plants from suckers that emerge from laterally growing roots, can become quite dense.


Type: Fruit – Dry Seed Pod	Description: The fruit is a woody, hairy, slim, cylindrical capsule about 1/3-inch long containing small, dark seeds	Months in Seed: Fall

Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle:

All plants start life as a seed.
The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots.
The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground.
After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers.
After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed.
When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again.
Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.

General Plant Life Cycle – Dreamstime

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
Ready as-is PDF

QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Editable Word Doc

Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
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