The plant can produce denser and neater foliage and branches with a sunnier site, pruning and fertilization. Though sweetspire is native to moist areas, it has been reported as significantly drought tolerant. It can establish in a landscape with only one year of supplemental watering. Native to moist soils from New Jersey to East Texas. 6-inch racemes that abundantly cover the shrub.
Leaves are simple, alternate, oblong to almost linear.
Fall color can range from true red to red-orange. The shrub's bark is brown or gray and forms scales with age. Young stems are smooth and green. It typically grows to be 3-5 feet tall with a width greater than its height, but some specimens have grown to 10 feet. Sweetspire transplants easily from containers.