Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) is a medium-size shrub that adapts to most gardens. Learn more about this fragrant plant that blooms in late summer. 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.
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. Clethra is a very popular flowering shrub — breeders have produced varieties with more abundant flower spikes, different flower colors, and dwarf sizes suitable for small spaces. Gardeners can purchase summersweet shrubs in containers to plant in spring through fall. 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.
clethra summersweet, Clethra alnifolia summersweet, sweet pepperbush While the flowers look beautiful, the spicy, sweet scent of Clethra is its real draw for humans and a massive profusion of pollinating insects. Native to swampy woodlands and marshes, clethra flourish in wet ground and will even tolerate standing water, making them a good choice for low-lying areas of the garden. They will thrive in coastal areas as well because of their resistance to salt spray and brackish water. Coastal sweet-pepperbush is a deciduous perennial shrub in the clethra family (Clethraceae). It is native to eastern North America, from Maine south to Florida and west to Texas.
