Home » Plants & Animals » Gardening in Southern U.S. » Autumnal Accents

Autumnal Accents

© Emily Levitt

It's plotting and planning time in the garden. The seasonal emphasis is on change in the foliage, and on the changes I'd like to make in my garden.

A reference I use almost every season is a ratty old list I keep in my gardening notebook. The heading on the page is "Things I Wish I'd Used" and darn if this list doesn't get longer every year. Some of the "wish" materials were unavailable or beyond my budget; others were washouts in the gardens of friends. A third category is penciled in as "TMS"--too much shade/sun and therefore a waste of time, in my location. Some things get crossed off the list, never to return; others continue to receive stars and highlights. This plant has stars and exclamation points all over it's place on my list, and I really want it for the garden in 2001:

ITEA Virginica (genus:itea) is one plant I'd like to include in my garden, as I 've admired it at several Atlanta retailers recently. It carries high recommendations from reliable sources, most notably Dr. Michael Dirr, who selected it from the Scott Arbretum at Swarthmore College, in Pennsylvania. The original seeds for this cultivar were selected in Georgia, which explains its' success in my region.

My research yielded on this North American native plant yielded enthusiasm from Michigan to Arkansas. Dr.Dirr gives it rave reviews. All sources loved its' ease of propagation, pest resistance, rapid growth habit. It needs acidic soil, is shade tolerant, and can be rooted by soft-wood cuttings (or the "bent branch held down by a rock" method I use) It sets seeds after flowering, but roots so well that growing from seed seems almost unneccessary. Established plants set out little suckers which may be dug out and relocated--- yet this is a polite plant which is not invasive.

Itea likes damp conditions, but does not require them. Even moisture is essential with new plantings, but mature plants are fairly drought tolerant. Very light pruning after flowering will encourage a fuller, more compact spread.

It's covered with six inch long white flowers when in full bloom. Flowers are similar to those of 'clethra', but itea has an earlier bloom time in my zone 7, and drooping flower panicles rather than the upright presentation seen in the more familiar pepperbush. Bloom time will vary according to your location and the amount of light iteas recieve. Itea smells just wonderful, and is very attractive to pollinators.

The copyright of the article Autumnal Accents in Gardening in Southern U.S. is owned by Emily Levitt. Permission to republish Autumnal Accents in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.