Summersweet typically spreads to 4 to 6 feet and forms an oval shape. Learn tips for creating your most beautiful home and garden ever. It will grow in full sun to full shade, and requires little pruning or other maintenance. Virginia sweetspire grows quite well in very hot conditions, provided it gets plenty of water. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. This is a good plant for woodland gardens or at the front of the mixed border. Get daily tips & tricks to help make your best home, How to Grow and Care for Japanese Barberry, How to Grow and Care for Mexican Bush Sage, How to Grow and Care for Kohuhu (Pittosporum tenuifolium), How to Grow and Care for Chinese Snowball Viburnum, How to Grow and Care for Rockspray Cotoneaster, Summersweet, sweet pepperbush, clethra, coastal sweet pepperbush, poor man's soap. Good flowering shrub for shade or woodland gardens. How to Grow and Care for Doublefile Viburnum Shrubs, How to Grow and Care for Black Lace Elderberry, How to Grow and Care for Emerald Gaiety Wintercreeper. It is a bright green in the spring and summer and turns orange and red in the fall. To create additional collections, you must be a paid member of our site. I want to be able to see over the plants if I want to sit out on my patio. But OH MY WORD! Summersweet is a versatile shrub that thrives in most climates and is suitable as a specimen plant or a hedge. So if you'd rather have the fragrant blooms of clethra in the summer (patio season? Top reasons to grow Scentlandia sweetspire: - More fragrant than other sweetspire varieties, - Better bud hardiness means better performance in USDA zones 5 and 6, - One of the most shade tolerant flowering shrubs. Also only grows to 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide, so it can be placed in almost any corner of the landscape without overcrowding other plants! Summersweet. The species gets tall and rangy, so it is worth seeking out the cultivar . 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. She is a former Clemson University Extension Agent. Ruby Spice Summersweet shrub is a huge color breakthrough for summersweet shrubs that features rich rose-pink blooms that are a first for flowering Clethra. For me, clethra blooms much later (in the summer) than itea (late spring bloomer). On this page: Basics | Planting | Care | Summersweet Varieties | Landscaping Ideas, Typically 3 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide, with the exception of dwarf varieties, Mid to late summer, with the blooms lasting 4 to 6 weeks, Glossy, dark green, and oval-shaped, with serrated margins. Though this native plant is much beloved for its sweetly scented summer blooms, not all plants exhibit equally strong fragrance, so it was our primary goal in introducing our next variety. Not fussy about soil pH. Stressed plants are more likely to run into bug and disease problems than "happy" ones in soils, sites and weather they prefer. CareLike other summersweets, Sixteen Candles loves wet locations in partial shade but does fine in average garden soil in full sun. Work in a bit of pelleted sulfur or organic matter, such as sawdust or leaves. Slow growing; reaches 3 to 4 ft. tall, slightly wider. It is a lovely shrub and is doing well (I make sure that it gets enough water, especially during this year's drought) except that it has chlorosis. I planted two of the LIttle Henry shrubs in a western exposure that gets afternoon sun and heat. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Summersweet, or Clethra alnifolia, is a shrub that can tolerate areas of standing water and still thrive. In the right conditions, it can spread and fill in quickly via suckering roots, making it good for erosion control. May be pruned after blooming if required. . The only common problems that this shrub faces are spider mites. Find out where you fall in the USDA Hardiness Zones database. Because of its versatility and modest size, summersweet bush has a multitude of uses in both formal and informal gardens. I have clethra in sun here in Georgia and it does fine and flowers heavily. They were both planted on a small slope, with sun until early afternoon, and have been absolutely great the entire time. Learn tips for creating your most beautiful home and garden ever. Summersweet plants usually grow 4-9ft (1.2-2.7m) tall and about 6ft (1.8m) wide, although they may spread into a mounded clump if allowed to sucker. CareProvide full sun to partial shade and fertile, preferably acidic, medium to wet soil. I'd hate to give up on sweetspire because it's a pretty plant when it's healthy. These shrubs are native to the eastern regions of the United States, where they can be found in woods and thickets, often in swampy areas and along streams. As low as $29.99 . Keep soil moist to wet. This plant is quite hardy and doesn't have any serious pests to contend with. Spider mites may be a concern in dry conditions. Great for grouping and for massing on large banks, in beds, and perennial and shrub borders. This plant is best grown in full sun, part shade or full shade in average, medium to wet, slightly acid, well-drained soils. Easily grown in average, medium to wet soils in full sun to part shade. It produces fragrant drooping white flowers in early summer and turns deep red in the fall. Summersweet is tolerant of a range of garden conditions including shade . By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Q: My Virginia sweetspire plants have looked awful by summer's end the last two years. Orange, green and red leaves all at once. Garden Uses: Sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), also called summersweet, is a Maryland native plant found in forested wetlands, floodplains, and swamps. The showy bottlebrush-like flower clusters, some nearly a foot long, continue for weeks on end, attracting a steady parade of butterflies and bees with their seductive fragrance. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Gorgeous little plant. Best Flowering Shrubs for Season-Long Color They will tolerate short periods of drought but perform best when they receive regular water. It enjoys excellent resistance to insects and diseases. Find locations near you that offer Proven Winners products. All Rights Reserved. | Letter from the Editor, Watch Out for New Garden Pests Heading This Way, Designing a Beautiful Back BorderPlanting Plan. I want to put something , not to tall, around my cement patio. 3 5 comments Best Add a Comment halfbajan 2 yr. ago Hi there! Such dieback in winter means the loss of some of the flower buds that produce blooms in spring. Find plants you love and create idea boards for all your projects. A dependable shrub that is native from coastal Maine south to north Florida and then west to the eastern edge of Texas. However, I did not get any blooms this year. Great for massing on large banks, in beds, and perennial and shrub borders. Ideally, plant these shrubs in a spot that receives morning sun and afternoon shade. They will thrive in coastal areas as well because of their resistance to salt spray and brackish water. Flowers give way to dark brown seed capsules (1/8" diameter) which may persist into winter. Also may be naturalized in cottage gardens, wild gardens or naturalized areas. Virginia sweetspire is a deciduous shrub with arching stems and alternate simple leaves that are oval in shape and dark green in color. Supply plants with composted organic matter to encourage roots to spread. You could also divide the plants if you'd like during the move. Growing Zones: 3-8 . To form solid hedges, space plants a distance equal to their mature width. Soils should not be allowed to dry out. 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. They were beautiful in the fall, changing to shades of red, and held their leaves for a while. This summersweet is a sport of C. alnifolia Pink Spires. Bears exceptionally large, pure white flowers almost a foot in length, nearly twice the size of other varieties. Becoming a contributing member of Gardenia is easy and can be done in just a few minutes. Summersweet is hard to transplant and slow to recover from transplanting. Was delivered healthy and packaged very well. Find plants you love and create idea boards for all your projects. Features fragrant, tiny white flowers borne in cylindrical, drooping racemes (3-6" long) which cover the shrub . Mature stems have scaly, dark gray to brown black bark. Flea beetles can be handled with neem oil, while leaf spot is remedied through neem oil, baking soda solutions, copper fungicide, or copper and pyrethrins. The plant belongs to one of only two genera in the Clethraceae (white alder) family, with Purdiaea being the other genus. Here are ideas for taking advantage of its many attributes: RELATED: They also suggested as an option pulling the plants and starting over again. The seed capsules turn brown and persist on the plant in . It also attracts hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Noteworthy Characteristics. I can grab any that pop up a foot or so away and pull them up back toward the base and clip off. Control can be as simple as spraying the leaves (front and back) with water to knock them off, though further intervention with horticultural oils may be needed if mites are persistent. Native to the woodlands of eastern North America, it is a good choice for woodland borders. During the late summer or early fall, collect the small brown seed pods from the plant. 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. As of August 2020, they have gotten larger over the course of the year and put out upward branches in a loose open habit but also runners underground. 'Sixteen Candles' is a compact rounded shrub growing slowly to 4-5 feet high and 2-3 feet wide and is suitable for borders, screens or as a specimen plant. Effective as a hedge. Propagate by cuttings. Water regularly to keep the soil moist, especially during the first growing season. Browse reviews from people who have grown this plant. Wandering roots and stems can easily be chopped off and transplanted. Read our. Right now - the deer are enjoying browsing the plants every evening so I take it that they didn't read the plant description. The species is native to the eastern United States. Then watch for a return of the leaf-spotting and scale. Prune if needed in late winter. The scent and flowers are perfect in the garden and the winter interest color is gorgeous. Vanessa Richins Myers has a BS in horticulture and over 10 years of training and experience as a professional horticulturist and gardener. Which would you recommend? Sugartina 'Crystalina' Summersweet. Find a Garden Center that carries Proven Winners plants & products. They were dormant when I got them. I admire it daily as I walk past it and it feels like it is different every day. Find locations near you that offer Proven Winners products. 20+ Rain Garden Plants Root greenwood cuttings in early summer. 20 Fragrant Flowering Plants Get plant information, gardening solutions, design inspiration and more in our weekly newsletter. Tolerates clay soils. The description of these plants has been written based on numerous outside resources. One of the darkest pink-flowered cultivars, flaunting deep rosy pink flowers notable for retaining their color intensity without fading. This Sugartina has fragrant white flowers that appear by mid-summer. The optimum amount of sun or shade each plant needs to thrive: Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (4-6 hours), Full Shade (up to 4 hours). I have a grouping of Little Henry Sweetspire right near my patio and love it. Virginia sweetspire is a deciduous shrub with arching stems and alternate simple leaves that are oval in shape and dark green in color. Summersweet is a medium-sized deciduous shrub that adds color and fragrance to your garden with its late-summer blooms. That way you get blooms and fragrance at different points of the summer, and the great fall foliage of the sweetspire. These may survive into winter in some climates. You say to plant "around" the patio, does that mean you are looking at planting several? Soil: moist to wet soil; pH 4.5-6.5. Plant near a patio or other outdoor living space to fully enjoy the sweet-smelling flowers. Its mounded, compact stature makes it an improvement over older varieties such as the old favorite 'Henry's Garnet'. In colder areas, sweetspire may experience a bit of weather damage coming out of winter, so prune any dead wood out after new growth has begun. Use as an underplanting beneath trees or in a woodland garden. Shady conditions may limit the flower production and mute the autumn color. I just planted it this season so I will have to update my review on its performance once it is established. The flowers are produced on vertical flower spikes about 6 inches long that protrude from the glossy green foliage. Create long-lasting, pleasing contrasts in your garden. Their scent will hang beautifully in the air! A good choice for smaller gardens and tight spaces. Use clean garden shears to cut 3- to 4-inch cuttings, taken in the morning, from well-established healthy plants. Native from southern New Jersey down to Florida, it is winter hardy to Zone 5 . Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Houzz utilise des cookies et d'autres technologies de suivi similaires pour personnaliser mon exprience utilisateur, me proposer du contenu pertinent et amliorer ses produits et services. It has a long period of good autumn color with leaves that turn shades of red, orange, and gold. As low as $29.99 . This shrub usually grows to 3 to 6 feet in height, but can be up to 8-feet tall. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. It also attracts hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Store them in a sealed container, tucked away in the refrigerator until spring rolls around. Cookies, This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' (Summersweet), Clethra alnifolia 'Caleb' VANILLA SPICE' (Summersweet), Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum' (Solomon's Seal), Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' (Hakone Grass), Actaea simplex (Atropurpurea Group) 'James Compton' (Baneberry), Great Shrubs with Brilliant Fall Color for New England Gardens, Best Shrubs as Companion Plants for Azaleas and Rhododendrons, Want Garden Inspiration? If you dont want your shrubs to naturalize, simply clip away the suckers from the base of the plant to maintain a more formal appearance. Is blooming and starting to increase in Does anybody grow Moonlight in paris or tamora rose? Problems Infrequent Genus : Clethra Zones : 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Plant Height : 3 to 6 feet Plant Width : 3 to 6 feet Bloom Time : Early Fall, Late Summer Characteristics : Fragrant Flowers, Showy Fall Foliage Light : Full Sun to Partial Shade Sign up for weekly gardening inspiration and design tips. Softwood stem cuttings, taken in early summer, are the best way to propagate summersweet. Elsewhere, summersweet looks nice when grouped in planting beds or lined up as a shrub border. This may sound drastic, but what I'd probably do in your case is whack back all growth to the ground and burn or get rid of the wood. Locate a Sunny Spot. The leaves have been getting black spots, and now my tree-care company told me they noticed scale insects. Scentlandia sweetspire delivers on all three! We'll see how the plants perform Spring and Summer before making a final decision on the plants. You can deadhead to remove flowers past their prime, but otherwise, you can usually just leave this shrub alone unless you desire a neatly groomed look. less likely to get leggy, bloom better) than the other. 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. I plan to buy at least three more. I find the fragrance of the Clethra more dramatic but find the fall foliage of 'Little Henry' one of the best fall foliage plants. Bury the seed one inch in the soil and keep it moist. I planted them in groups of 3 in 3 locations around my home. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. | Letter from the Editor, Watch Out for New Garden Pests Heading This Way, Designing a Beautiful Back BorderPlanting Plan. Spread 2-3 Feet Wide. Once the roots are in place, you can move it out to the landscape. Though the plant can be started indoors, once a root system is established in the container, it needs to go into the ground to thrive. Grows well in wet areas. Thrives in moist, wet areas, but once established, can tolerate dry conditions. Its small size makes it perfect for smaller borders and beds. Mulch is a good idea. Little Henry Sweetspire. Summer Sparkler Summersweet, Summer Sweet, Einstein Summersweet, Novacleein, or Clethra Alnifolia, is a compact, heavy-blooming, deciduous shrub packed with 12-inch floriferous spires of twisted, fragrant blooms, reminiscent of Albert Einstein's trademark hair. I did and found LOTS of scales up and down the stems. For a much larger shrub, go with Hollyleaf Sweetspire which can grow up to 12 feet high. To create an idea board, sign in or create an account. The shrub has a rounded habit and produces cylindrical drooping flowers (racemes) from late spring to mid-summer. Make sure there are other plants around, as the plant will look bare until the leaves appear at the end of spring. Plant this shrub in humusy, well-drained soil that is somewhat on the moist side. A versatile shrub for shrub borders, open woodland gardens, foundations . Burning Bush is a plant quite similar to this one, though it is more susceptible to disease and pests. It grows well in both full sun and partial shade, though it will achieve the best shape, flower color, and fall color in full sun. * Required FieldsWe will never sell or distribute your email to any other parties or organizations. Itea virginica, commonly called Virginia sweetspire, is an erect, rounded, broad-spreading, deciduous shrub with arching branches. If your site already is morning sun and afternoon shade, I'd try digging the plants and replanting into improved soil (see above).
Best Seats At Tropicana Field,
Is Larry Bagby Married,
Melbourne Crime Families,
Articles S
