The main value of the cultivar is the nice autumn color and the small habit.

Plus the iteas hold onto their autumn leaves into winter. I think the texture of the plant in flower is very nice.

Here is a link that might be useful: Little Henry

Wow, yes, they do like they get quite nice in a couple years! Does it need pruning? If so, when and how?
Thanks again!

I was thinking of 'Little Henry.'

Why did I put Little Henry? You have Henry's Garnet. Sorry.
Still nice though don't you think? It is a little bigger.

Here is a link that might be useful: Henry's Garnet

Seems like an easy plant. Ones at a local nursery had a beautiful garnet red color in Oct. Mine did not,last Fall. Both of mine are suckering, but I want a naturalistic woodland edge look. Both (Henry's Garnet, Little Henry) moved easily, last Spring, when I wanted them somewhere else.

I had a Little Henry and it really isn't as hardy as it is supposed to be - it struggled along for several years without blooming or increasing in size, and last winter when we had no snow cover for a goodly portion of the season it croaked. So, I don't know where you are, but a discussion a while ago, probably on the New England forum, strongly suggested that at least around here it's only reliable to zone 6 or so.

While my LHs are in a natural setting, IMO they suckers way too much for the little fellow. Three 2G plants become tangled 6' wide mass in 2 years. Bloom was somewhat short, but fall color is truly outstanding.

I chose the Virginia Sweetspire (Henry's Garnet) because I needed a flowering shrub for a spot that's in shade for a good part of the year but is in full sun for most of the day in the summer.

I planted two of them last fall. The fall color was so-so, probably because I planted them late, but they bloomed well this spring and look very happy now. I've left room for suckering but don't know yet if this will be enough.

Claire

So they are inclined to suckering, then? How much room do you need to allow for that? I've got it planted in a small bed pretty close to a young crabapple.

While I think it is fair to give the general height expected of a shrub that spreads by suckers, the comment for width should be 'unlimited'. The plants are likely to go as far as people and the natural world will allow them to. A crabapple sticking out of a colony of sweetspire would seen nice to me, but I would expect the plant to spread faster towards the brighter light.

The trick to getting fall colour is to have the plant in quite a bit of sun. The more shade it's in, the more it tends toward an indeterminate green. Although summer sun may do the trick, I actually think it needs the sun to be hitting it in fall, when you want the leaves to colour up, but I'm less sure about that. The first spot I had mine in, where it stayed olive, was in mostly shade year-round. The second spot, where it showed gorgeous colour, in quite a bit of sun year-round. Now it's in my north-facing front yard where it gets summer sun but where the shadow of the house will envelop it by mid to late September. This is a test of its sun needs!

Also, in my experience, Itea suckering is not of the running type that you get with, for example, the revoltingly aggressive flowering quince. The new shoots stay fairly close to the mother plant.

What do you do for pruning? Before or after blooming?

I grow Merlot and haven't had a suckering problem as of yet. It has stayed small so far though this year it has thrown up a few taller but still short shoots. I've had it about four or five years now from a very small plant.

sweetcherry - most recommend pruning after bloom for just about any shrub.

I have a baby one of these (not sure which cultivar as it was only labeled as a virginia sweetspire) that I got last fall at my local horticultural society's members dividend. Even in its morning sun position, it did pretty decently with the fall foliage and the leaves hung on for quite some time. What I have isn't a fast grower so I suspect it may be a "Little Henry".

Hi, I have a Virginia Sweetspire in Zone 6, Boston that I love for its fall color(reddish burgundy) and how it holds its leaves for quite a bit of the winter. It also takes to pruning easily (I will probably prune mine now but I usually do it a little earlier right after blooming) and looks good in the landscape next to evergreen bushes-hollies etc. It's in a confined area and there are suckers that you need to address on occassion but I don't find it out of control.

Hi I'm VERY new to gardening and need some help with my Little Henry's I just planted. Sorry if these are dumb questions but:
1. When you say prune do you mean cut off where the flowers were but are now dying off or cut the end of every branch?
2. Is pruning used to help or control growth?
3. I planted them 32 inches apart will they eventually grow into one long shcrub? Thanks in advance