If you garden in zones 5 through 9 and are looking for a small to medium shrub that has fall color, Itea virginica, commonly called Virginia Sweetspire, may be a good candidate for you.
It has an upright growth habit and flowers in early summer. The flowers are white and like bottle brushes with nectar that is sought after by butterflies and other insects.
Itea is a shrub that does well in sun or shade, which is a handy asset when surrounding plantings either grow up or die down, thereby changing the exposure. However, the red fall foliage color is more dramatic in a sunny site.
I have Iteas in both sun and shade in my Midwest garden, and it is one of the few shrubs that will flower in shade. I plant them near evergreens as they like a slightly acid soil, but they also adapt well in neutral or alkaline soil.
This is a deciduous shrub that lends itself to being planted in a serpentine curve to separate two garden areas, for example.
In a shady woodland setting, they will develop colonies and naturalize. Offshoots, potted up, make an appropriate house warming gift as they can be planted nearly anywhere and thrive, and they look good as a specimen plant as they don’t need much pruning.
The cultivar ‘Henry’s Garnet’ turns a dark red in late October in my garden, and ‘Little Henry’ is a more compact cultivar while ‘Shirley’s Compact’ is a true dwarf that is perfect in small areas.
