General Culture:
Easily grown in average, medium to wet, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Adaptable to shade. Prefers moist, humusy soils, but tolerates a wide range of soil conditions. Can form dense colonies by root suckering if left unchecked.
Noteworthy Characteristics:
Virginia sweetspire is an erect, rounded, deciduous shrub which typically grows 3-5' tall in cultivation (to 10' in the wild). A Missouri native plant that occurs in swamps, low wet woods and along spring branches in Southeastern Missouri south of Cape Girardeau. Features fragrant, tiny white flowers borne in cylindrical, drooping racemes (2-5" long) which cover the shrub with bloom in early summer. Oval, dark green leaves (1-4" long) turn an attractive red in autumn, sometimes persisting on the shrub until December.
Problems:
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses:
Versatile shrub for sunny or shady areas of the shrub border, native plant garden or woodland garden. Naturalizes well in wild plant gardens. Good for wet locations such as low spots or on the edges of streams or ponds.
© Missouri Botanical
Garden, 2001-2010
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