Summersweet Clethra

Clethra alnifolia

Other Names: Sweet Pepper Bush

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 4a-9b (3?) Find Your Zone

Plant Type: Deciduous Flowering Shrub

Height at Maturity: 5-8′

Width at Maturity: 4-6′

Growth Habit / Form: Upright Bush

Growth Rate: Moderate

Flower Color: White to Soft Pink

Flower Size: Small in 1″ wide by 4-6″ tall spiked clusters

Flowering Period: Early to Mid-Summer in South; Mid to Late Summer in North

Flower Type: Single in 4-6″ tall spikes

Fragrant Flowers: Yes! Smells like sweet candy

Foliage Color: Dark Green turning Bright Yellow shaders in fall

Fragrant Foliage: No

Sun Needs: Full Sun or Full Shade!

Water Needs: Average; drought tolerant when established

Soil Type: Clay (Amend heavy clay), Loam, Sandy, Silt

Soil Moisture / Drainage: Moist But Well Drain ed to Wet; drought tolerant when established

Soil pH: 5.5 – 7.5 (Acid to Slightly Alkaline)

Maintenance / Care: Very Low

Attracts: Butterflies. Hummingbirds, Pollinating Insects, Visual Attention

Resistances: Clay Soil, Cold Temperatures (30F), Deer, Disease, Drought (when established), Heat, Heavy Shade, Insect, Salt Air, Wet Soils

Description

An amazingly adaptable North American native plant, Summersweet Clethra, also called Sweet Pepperbush, is a highly ornamental flowering shrub that will grow almost anywhere in the country and in almost in any conditions: full sun or full shade and wet or dry soil. In summer it features abundant 4 to 6 inch tall wands packed with white to soft-pink flowers with a fragrance that smells like sweet candy, which is sure to draw in the hummingbirds, butterflies and beneficial pollinators. The bright flowers stand out beautifully against the glossy, oval-shaped dark green leaves that turn bright yellow shades in fall on an upright mound 5 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide. Exceptionally versatile and easy to grow, as mentioned, this North American native shrub is right at home in moist or dry sites and any amount of sun or shade. Excellent near patios, decks, porches and around other outdoors sitting areas where the fragrant flowers and butterflies and hummingbirds feeding can be enjoyed from close up. Disease and insect free and you might be happy to know the deer turn their nose up to it.

Landscape & Garden Uses

Growing 6 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide, Summersweet Clethra is ideal for use as a specimen or in groupings in sunny or shady landscape borders. It tolerates drought but prefers a moist to wet site. In boggy soils it will spread by stolons to form a colony. Plant near windows or around outdoor living areas where the fragrance can be enjoyed. A fine addition to butterfly and hummingbird gardens, white theme gardens, fragrance gardens, bog gardens, wildlife gardens and cottage gardens.

Suggested Spacing: 4 feet for solid groupings; 10 feet or more for space between plants

Growing Preferences

Summersweet Clethra is very easy to grow in most any moist to wet soil of average fertility and full sun to full shade. It will tolerate drought when established but grows best in sites with a consistently moist, slightly acid soil. In boggy soils it will spread by stolons to form a colony. No pruning is necessary though plants respond well to almost any amount of it.

Helpful Articles

Click on the link below to find helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Summersweet Clethra plants.

How To Plant & Care For Clethra Summersweet

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