Itea virginica is an open, airy shrub with slender, arching branches. The leaves are alternate, tardily deciduous, long-eliptic,and toothed along their margins. They darken to red and purple in autumn, and may persist throughout most of winter, especially in the south.

The white flowers are individually small, but borne from the tips of branches in elongate clusters (called racemes) that are very showy. The clusters of slightly fragrant flowers are long and may last for several weeks in the spring and early summer. The fruits are dry capsules in the same clusters, and usually remain on the shrub throughout the autumn and winter.