The butterflies love it. Save Comment 24 Like 12. Pronunciation: i-TE-a ver-JIN-i-ka. Will gradually colonize wider if you don’t sever root shoots. Sweetspires are supposedly versatile and not picky about soil, but I see them doing best in damp soil that's well drained, rich in organic matter, and sited in morning sun and afternoon shade. Monrovia's Little Henry® Dwarf Virginia Sweetspire details and information. Itea virginica 'Sprich' LITTLE HENRY . Requires little pruning or maintenance and attracts pollinators. * Size: Grows 3 to 4 feet tall and best kept to about 4 feet wide. They also suggested as an option pulling the plants and starting over again. Little Henry has lightly scented, pure white flowers that shoot like fireworks in the early summer horizon. Type: Deciduous shrub Family: Iteaceae Zone: 5 to 9 Height: 1.50 to 2.00 feet Spread: 2.00 to 2.50 feet Bloom Time: June to July Bloom Description: White Sun: Full sun to part shade Water: Medium to wet Maintenance: Low Suggested Use: Hedge, Rain Garden. Likewise if they spill food or drink to clean up after themselves :) Guess I need to start over with grandchildren now!! Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: No. Little Henry is a useful native plant with lots of potential for the home landscape. It is preferable to moist soil that is drained well. Use it in massed plantings, mixed borders, and containers. If needed, prune these early summer flowering shrubs soon after they have bloomed. Subscribe to PennLive. A Proven Winners ® ColorChoice ® best-seller, Little Henry ® sweetspire is a versatile native shrub that grows in full sun to full shade and thrives in moist soils. I did and found LOTS of scales up and down the stems. And you can be too careful I feel. Another charming compact, "Little Henry" reaches a height of only 2 feet. Twitter. Learn more about Monrovia plants and best practices for best possible plant performance. Best flowering occurs with 4 hours of sun per day. Itea virginica Little Henry® (Virginia Sweetspire) is a small, compact, deciduous shrub boasting bottlebrush spikes of lightly fragrant, creamy-white flowers in late spring to early summer. Its compact size makes it wonderful for any space. It's a good lesson for them to learn. Great Design Plant: 'Little Henry' Sweetspire Small in stature but big on impact, this fuss-free shrub promises spring flowers, fiery fall color and good manners in the garden. Everything has to perform well without fussing or special fertilizer, cope with herds of deer and thick clay soil, and look good in the process. -Allan Armitage, Plants to know and grow, Fine Gardening issue #121 I love to see the bees. And if I battle the scales, how would I go about it? There is no room in my garden for prima donnas. Back to Previous Page. Features fragrant, tiny white flowers borne in cylindrical, drooping racemes (3-6" long) which cover the shrub with bloom in late spring to early summer. It prefers moist soils and will tolerate wet conditions. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. sweetspire.henry.hedge1.JPG. Unless you know your children have an allergy to bee stings let them get stung once and then they will be more careful where they tread. Many conventional nurseries sell this cultivar as the second most used cultivar after 'Henry's Garnet.' On older plants some of the heaviest cains can be removed to increase vigor. You can have an antihistamine ready of course in your medicine cupboard. We are just concerned that with young children who create lots of spills, attracting bees may not be somewhat we want. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Proven Winners® selections are trialed and tested to be colorful, long blooming, carefree and easy to grow. Then I'd look for an afternoon-shade location and transplant the stubby remnants and roots there. Share. Little Henry® Virginia Sweetspire will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. blooms in May. Without them we wouldn't have many of the foods we enjoy. The flowers are so profuse that they literally cover the shrub. For one thing, they're survivors that'll often keep coming back year after year even though they're suffering disease or bug issues. Which gives a … Itea virginica 'Little Henry' has the potential to elicit both close-at-hand study as well pleasing "walking by" glances every day of the year. 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