Sweetspire 'Little Henry'
Itea virginica 'Little Henry' · Iteaceae
A compact sweetspire, knee to waist high, with upright white flower spikes in early summer and brilliant red autumn leaves.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Early June to early July
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around sweetspire 'Little Henry'
The planner designed this bed around sweetspire 'Little Henry' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why sweetspire 'Little Henry' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Sweetspire 'Little Henry' × 1, white
- 2 Mossy saxifrage × 20, pink
- 3 Carpathian bellflower × 8, blue
- 4 Swamp milkweed 'Ice Ballet' × 3, white
- 5 Blue wood aster × 3, lavender
- 6 Coral bells 'Berry Smoothie' × 3, red leaves
- 7 Spring starflower × 12, blue
- 8 Surprise lily × 3, pink
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- The only spires. The others are open bowls, bells, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back. At 2½ ft it is seen over mossy saxifrage (5 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to blue wood aster (3 ft) and coral bells 'Berry Smoothie' (18 in): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From early June to early July.
- Fills a gap. For two of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The bed is tied together by its repeats: two kinds come round again along it, mossy saxifrage and Carpathian bellflower. Mossy saxifrage is the plant there is most of: 20 of the 53.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where sweetspire 'Little Henry' goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
Small enough to mass as a tall groundcover. In autumn a group of them looks like a bed of coals.
- A native shrub for small gardens
- Massing in moist soil
- Autumn colour at the front of a border
What to plant with sweetspire 'Little Henry'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Astilbe: in flower together for three weeks, from late June; happy in the same moist soil.
- Japanese forest grass 'Aureola': its chartreuse leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about sweetspire 'Little Henry'
Does sweetspire 'Little Henry' need sun or shade?
Sweetspire 'Little Henry' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does sweetspire 'Little Henry' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does sweetspire 'Little Henry' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early June to early July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Early June to early July |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Early June to early July |
| Zone 7 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 8 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 9 | Late May to late June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should sweetspire 'Little Henry' be planted?
2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many sweetspire 'Little Henry' plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 6 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, planted singly: it is the bed's structure, and everything else is arranged around it.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is sweetspire 'Little Henry' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat sweetspire 'Little Henry'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
Will sweetspire 'Little Henry' spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by suckers into a wider clump. Remove the outer shoots to contain it.
What flowers after sweetspire 'Little Henry'?
Sweetspire 'Little Henry' is over by early July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall.
What does sweetspire 'Little Henry' look like in winter?
Sweetspire 'Little Henry' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is sweetspire 'Little Henry' good for bees and butterflies?
Sweetspire 'Little Henry' is visited by pollinators, butterflies, hummingbirds and songbirds.
It is native to the United States (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Itea
- Virginia sweetspire Itea virginica
- Virginia sweetspire 'Henry's Garnet' Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet'
In these guides
- Plants for dry shade
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native plants for shade
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Plants for a white garden
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (75 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Early June to early July; upright spires; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green, red
- Shape
- Mounding, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Iteaceae
- Comes from
- Southeastern United States
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, wet soil
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.