Quackin Grass Nursery

Itea virginica 'Shirley's Compact' - A very dwarf form of Virginia Sweetspire that will achieve a beautiful domed shrub of small stature - only about 18 inches tall by approximately thirty inches wide in a decade or so. White, miniscule summer flowers occur among heavily textured, densely set medium green serrated leaves. Foliage turns beguiling crimson in autumn and once they fall off leave a handsome, twiggy mound in the winter landscape with reddish brown and olive colored stems. Neat plant. Please note: as easy as all of its larger siblings grow with abandon Shirley is fickle and sometimes just plain recalcitrant. Perhaps it's the tight and dense growth that invites trouble; could it be like Dana Carvey's calling as the church lady on SNL: "maybe its Satan?" We haven't a clue. Site in morning to mostly sunny sites in fertile, organic moist soil. For gardeners towards the northern end of its range spring planting is advised.