summersweet clethra - Gardening
Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) is one garden plant that truly lives up to its name, producing an abundance of sweetly scented flowers during the waning days of summer, when few other shrubs are in bloom. Clethra alnifolia, commonly called summersweet, is a deciduous shrub that is native to swampy woodlands, wet marshes, stream banks and seashores, often in sandy soils, along the coast from Maine to Florida and west to Texas. Native to eastern North America and west to Texas, summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) is found in moist areas such as swamps, wetlands, and floodplains.
Understanding the Context
This deciduous shrub grows to 4 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide in full sun to partial shade. Clethra alnifolia ‘Hummingbird’ (Summersweet) is a gorgeous, compact, slowly spreading, deciduous shrub that features bottlebrush spikes of extremely fragrant white flowers which bloom for 4-6 weeks in mid to late summer. Summersweet clethra is a native, deciduous upright shrub that typically grows between 4 and 8 feet tall and slowly spreads by sending up new shoots from rhizomes to form a small thicket. A wide variety of butterflies and songbirds are attracted to summersweet clethra for its nectar and seeds.
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Key Insights
Native to the eastern United States, it provides exceptional four season interest with its lustrous green leaves in the spring, spiky white or pink fragrant summer flowers, golden yellow autumn leaves, and interesting, delicate dried seed ... Summersweet thrives in moist climates and tolerates heat above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, cold winters, and grows well in areas with standing water. It is originally from eastern and southern North America, but grows naturally along the Atlantic coast and west to Texas. Temperature and Humidity Summersweet is adapted to a wide range of climates, from areas with subzero winters to places with hot summers. It does not have any humidity requirements or issues with high humidity.