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Clethra alnifolia
Summersweet, Sweet Pepperbush Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Sweet Pepperbush is a beautiful, under-used, deciduous shrub for the shrub border or natural areas. For 4 to 6 weeks in midsummer, plants bear hundreds of white, wonderfully fragrant flowers arranged in plump, upright, bottle-brush-like spikes 2 to 6 inches long. The scent is a sweet perfume and bees love the nectar. Sweet Pepperbush grows to about 8 feet and may sucker freely, forming a dense, round-tipped colony. It grows in wet or average soil in sun or shade and apparently withstands salt spray. The attractive green leaves turn a good yellow in the fall, then fall off neatly. You might try Clethra underplanted with Gentians, Wild Ageratum, and Red or Blue Lobelia. Cat# 1056

Availability?: Currently
$12.00 each in quart pots
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Average Rating: 4.00 (1 users) Rate This Plant!

- I bought C. alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' last year from Sunlight Gardens and they all survived the winter very well. They are a bit slow to leaf out. It is early July and they are dark green and very bushy. The flower spikes are just beginning to develop. A lovely plant



X Native Plant X Good Fragrance X Butterfly Plant
Hummingbird Plant X Good Fall Color Berries & Fruits
X Deer resistant
Ease of Culture
X Easy Not Too Hard Difficult or Tricky
Evergreen
Yes Semi X No
Plant Type
Wildflower X Shrub Grass or grass-like
Perennial Tree Ground cover
Fern Vine
Light Exposure
X Full sun X Mostly sunny X Half and half
Full shade Mostly shady
Soil Condition
Sandy X Organic
Clay X Average
Moisture Tolerance
Dry Wet
X Moist X Moderate
Height
12" or less
24" to 36"
12" to 24" X 36" or taller
Color
X White/whitish Pink Blue
Yellows Rose Green
Orange, coral Violet Brown
Peach, salmon Lavender Mauve
Red, scarlet Purple Tan
Bloom Time
Early spring Early summer Early fall
Mid spring X Mid summer Mid fall
Late spring X Late summer Late fall


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