{"title":"Clethra (Summersweet)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe name comes from \u003cem\u003eklethra\u003c\/em\u003e, the Greek for alder, given for a leaf that looks the part. Everything else about summersweet is unlike an alder. The plants bloom in July and August, which is the quiet hole in the flowering shrub calendar, and they bloom in fragrant white or pink bottlebrush spikes that a garden hears before anyone sees them, so loud is the traffic of bees working the flowers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eClethra alnifolia\u003c\/em\u003e is the Eastern native, a gently suckering shrub of damp woods and pond margins that takes shade, salt wind, and standing water without complaint; 'Ruby Spice' holds the deepest pink of the pink forms and 'Hummingbird' stays low and dense. \u003cem\u003eClethra tomentosa\u003c\/em\u003e is the Southern woolly summersweet, and 'Woodlander's Sarah' came out of our own beds. Beyond the natives, \u003cem\u003eClethra barbinervis\u003c\/em\u003e from Japan grows into a small tree with mottled, exfoliating bark worth a winter walk past. Give the group moist ground and let them colonize wherever you want damp shade filled.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"clethra-barbinervis","title":"Clethra barbinervis","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Japanese clethra is grown for bark as much as bloom. \u003cem\u003eClethra barbinervis\u003c\/em\u003e is a tall, tree-like deciduous shrub or small tree from the mountains of Japan and Korea, carrying somewhat fragrant terminal racemes of white flowers in summer, in the same sweet-scented family as the native summersweets. But the real distinction is the bark: smooth and polished, gray to warm brown, and exfoliating in age to a handsome patchwork that makes this one of the finest small trees for the winter garden.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLong valued in East Asian gardens, Japanese clethra brings a quiet, four-season presence: fragrant white summer flowers when little else is blooming, clean green foliage, and the polished, peeling trunk that becomes the main event once the leaves fall. Give the plant room to show the bark, and site where a winter path or window can take in the trunk.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the garden, plant Japanese clethra in part shade to full sun and moist, acid, well-drained soil, at a woodland edge, in a shaded border, or as a specimen where the bark can be read at close range. Keep the roots cool and evenly moist, underplant with ferns and shade lovers, and let the polished trunk carry the cold months.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057842720883,"sku":"CLET-BARB-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-42.jpg?v=1720137473"},{"product_id":"clethra-fargesii","title":"Clethra fargesii","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eClethra fargesii\u003c\/em\u003e is the Chinese cousin of our native summersweets, a graceful deciduous shrub from the mountain woodlands of central and western China, gathered and named for the French missionary-botanist Paul Farges. Kin to the better-known \u003cem\u003eClethra barbinervis\u003c\/em\u003e, the Chinese clethra stays a little shorter and carries dark, glossy green leaves, broadest through the middle and sharply toothed, that color bronze-red to maroon before they fall.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe flowers are the summer event: long racemose panicles, five to seven inches each, of pure white bloom that arrives in mid to late summer when little else among the shrubs is flowering, and that pours out a heavy, sweet fragrance rich in nectar for butterflies and bees. As the years pass, the trunks develop the smooth, marbled, cinnamon-brown bark that peels in the manner of the whole tribe, giving the plant a second season of quiet interest once the leaves are down.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive the Chinese clethra the cool, semi-shaded, evenly moist conditions of a woodland edge or a sheltered border in acid, humus-rich soil, out of the dry summer heat and drought the shrub does not relish. Site where the fragrant panicles can be caught on the air and, in time, the peeling bark read at close range. Lovely among ferns, hellebores, and other shade companions, and a refined change from the native summersweets for the collector.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057842753651,"sku":"CLET-FARG-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-328.jpg?v=1720137475"},{"product_id":"clethra-pringlei","title":"Clethra pringlei","description":"\u003cp\u003eMost of the summersweets drop their leaves and sleep through winter; \u003cem\u003eClethra pringlei\u003c\/em\u003e keeps them. This Mexican member of the clan is a broad-leaved evergreen, a large, slow-growing shrub or small tree from the mountain woodlands of northeastern Mexico, and one of the more surprising plants in the genus for a gardener who knows only the deciduous American kinds.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Mexican clethra was brought into cultivation by the plant explorers at Yucca-Do Nursery in Texas, and remains a relatively new and little-known introduction. The broad, fleshy, elliptic leaves, toothed toward the tip, emerge a warm bronze and settle to deep glossy green, holding the plant handsome the year round. In summer come the long racemes of white flowers, carrying a distinctive cinnamon fragrance rather than the honey-clove of the northern summersweets, a scent worth planting for on its own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRare and a touch tender, the Mexican clethra is a plant for the adventuresome southern gardener in zones 8 to 10, best given a warm, sheltered site in full sun to part shade where the new wood can ripen before winter and the evergreen frame is spared the hardest freezes. Site where the cinnamon-scented racemes can be met at close range, in a courtyard, a sheltered border, or the heart of a collector's bed, and pair with other broadleaf evergreens that share the taste for warmth.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057842786419,"sku":"CLET-PRIN-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-977.jpg?v=1720137478"},{"product_id":"clethra-alnifolia-anne-bidwell","title":"Clethra alnifolia ‘Anne Bidwell’","description":"\u003cp\u003eSummersweet, \u003cem\u003eClethra alnifolia\u003c\/em\u003e, is one of the great fragrant natives of the eastern United States, a shrub of moist woods and pond edges whose white summer spikes carry a honey-and-clove perfume across the whole garden. Colonists called the plant Sweet Pepperbush, for the peppercorn-like seed heads that follow, and Summersweet, for the scent; the flowers even lather softly in water and once served as a field soap.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Anne Bidwell' is the selection to grow for sheer flower power. Raised in Massachusetts from a commercial seed source, this summersweet is most remarkable for the flowers: densely clustered, multi-branched spikes far larger than the straight species, some eight to ten inches long, borne in such profusion that the bush seems to foam white. The blooms open around two weeks later than most selections, in mid to late August, stretching the summersweet season and the fragrance deep into the late-summer garden. The habit stays fairly compact and upright, dressed in lustrous dark green leaves that turn clear yellow in fall.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlant 'Anne Bidwell' where the late, oversized spikes can be met at close range, beside a path, a seat, or a window left open on a warm evening, and where the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are part of the pleasure. Wonderfully at home in moist shrub borders, rain gardens, and the heavy, damp shade that defeats showier plants. Pair with ferns, itea, and other moisture-loving companions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057842851955,"sku":"CLET-ALNI-ANNE-BIDW-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-322.jpg?v=1720137481"},{"product_id":"clethra-alnifolia-hummingbird","title":"Clethra alnifolia ‘Hummingbird’","description":"\u003cp\u003eSummersweet, or sweet pepperbush, is one of the most useful of the native shrubs for moist, shaded ground, and 'Hummingbird' is the compact, free-flowering selection that made the species a garden staple. Like the straight \u003cem\u003eClethra alnifolia\u003c\/em\u003e, this is a stoloniferous deciduous shrub that forms colonies in moist, acid soil, valued above all for the upright spikes of intensely fragrant white flowers that perfume the whole garden in the heat of summer, when little else is blooming.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Hummingbird' stays low and dense, spreading steadily by rhizome into a broad colony, and opens earlier than is typical for the species. The selection was made by the late Fred Galle of Callaway Gardens, Georgia, and Michael Dirr calls the plant \"one of the finest, compact deciduous shrubs available to gardeners.\" Native to the eastern United States, summersweet feeds bees and butterflies through midsummer and asks little in return.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the garden, plant 'Hummingbird' in sun to part shade and moist, acid soil, at a pond edge, in a rain garden, along a shaded walk, or massed as a low, fragrant groundcover-shrub. Site where the summer perfume can be met in passing, and give steady moisture; the colony knits together into a dependable, sweet-scented planting.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057842884723,"sku":"CLET-ALNI-HUMM-01G","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-324.jpg?v=1720137484"},{"product_id":"clethra-tomentosa-creels-calico","title":"Clethra tomentosa ‘Creel's Calico’","description":"\u003cp\u003eClethra alnifolia and the southern Clethra tomentosa are stoloniferous deciduous shrubs commonly called Summersweet or Sweet Pepperbush. They form colonies in moist acid soil and make good garden subjects. They are valued for their terminal spikes of fragrant white flowers in summer. Plant in sun or semi-shade and provide adequate moisture. This selection has leaves that are speckled and banded with cream to white variegation. Found by Mike Creel in Lexington County, SC. Plant best in semi-shade.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057843048563,"sku":"CLET-TOME-CREE-CALI-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-323.jpg?v=1720137487"},{"product_id":"clethra-alnifolia-var-tomentosa","title":"Clethra alnifolia var. tomentosa","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe summersweets are among the most fragrant of American shrubs, native to the moist woods, swamp edges, and pond margins of the eastern United States, where the white summer spikes scent whole acres of low ground. Country people knew the plant as Sweet Pepperbush, for the peppercorn-like seed heads, and as Summersweet, for the honey-and-clove perfume; the crushed flowers even raise a soft lather in water and once served as a woodland soap.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe woolly summersweet is the southern face of the clan, a variety set apart by a soft felting of hairs on the leaves and twigs (\u003cem\u003etomentosa\u003c\/em\u003e means woolly). The foliage resists mites better than the smooth-leaved forms, and the fuzzy leaves flush two to three weeks ahead of relatives such as 'Anne Bidwell' and 'Rosea', then hang on as the last summersweet leaves to fall in autumn. The flower spikes run larger than the straight species and open later in the season, extending the fragrance well past midsummer. More at home in southern heat than the northern clones, though gardeners at the cold edge of the range should give the plant a sheltered spot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive the woolly summersweet a moist, sunny to part-shaded spot where the late, oversized spikes can be caught on the air: a pond edge, a rain garden, a damp border, or an informal hedge. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds work the flowers steadily, and the shrub colonizes gently by root to fill a wet corner. Pair with ferns, itea, and other moisture-lovers native to the same low ground.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057843081331,"sku":"CLET-ALNI-TOME-01G","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-327.jpg?v=1720137489"},{"product_id":"clethra-alnifolia-ruby-spice","title":"Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice'","description":"\u003cp\u003eClethra alnifolia, the summersweet or sweet pepperbush, is a deciduous native of the eastern United States, at home along pond edges, in damp woods, and at the margins of coastal swamps from Maine to Florida. The species spreads gently by suckers into colonies of upright stems, and earns the name sweet pepperbush from the small, peppercorn-like seed capsules that follow the flowers and hang on through winter. For all that, the summer flowers are the reason to grow them: erect bottlebrush spikes, intensely honey-scented, that open over many weeks in the heat of July and August when little else in the shrub border is in bloom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Ruby Spice' is the deepest-colored of the pink forms, and the color holds rather than fading toward white in the heat the way earlier pinks tend to do. The selection arose as a sport of 'Pink Spire' at Broken Arrow Nursery in Hamden, Connecticut, singled out by Andy Brand and introduced with the laurel breeder Dick Jaynes. 'Ruby Spice' remains the most intense pink we have seen, the rose-pink racemes carried against clean, glossy, dark green foliage that turns a clear yellow to gold in autumn.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFew shrubs work so hard for a damp, part-shaded spot. The fragrant late-summer spikes draw bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds in numbers, and a settled colony asks for little beyond steady moisture and an acid soil. Native to the eastern U.S.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057843114099,"sku":"CLET-ALNI-RUBY-SPIC-01G","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/Clethraalnifolia_RubySpice_WoodlandersWellfieldBotanicGardens.jpg?v=1782834262"},{"product_id":"clethra-alnifolia-sixteen-candles","title":"Clethra alnifolia \"Sixteen Candles\"","description":"\u003cp\u003eSummersweet has long been a shrub gardeners plant by the nose. Native to the moist woods and pond margins of the eastern United States, \u003cem\u003eClethra alnifolia\u003c\/em\u003e earned the old country names Sweet Pepperbush and Summersweet for the honey-and-clove perfume that pours off the white summer spikes, a scent that carries clear across a garden on a warm afternoon. Colonists found a further use for the plant: the flowers, crushed in water, raise a soft lather, and were once pressed into service as a field soap.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Sixteen Candles' is the compact, well-mannered heir to that fragrant lineage. Raised as a seedling of the popular 'Hummingbird' and selected and named by Michael Dirr, whose name needs no introduction to anyone who has ever cracked a woody-plant manual, this summersweet holds sizeable spikes of pure white flowers bolt upright over dark green foliage, like so many candles on a low green cake. The habit stays dense and rounded, three to five feet high, and the leaves turn a clean butter yellow before they fall.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite 'Sixteen Candles' where the July fragrance can be met in passing, beside a path, a door, or a seating area, and where the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds working the spikes become part of the show. The shrub tolerates wet ground and even a little salt, so a low, damp corner that defeats other plants suits this one well. Lovely massed along a woodland edge, worked into a mixed border, or grown as a single specimen in a patio pot.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057843179635,"sku":"CLET-ALNI-SI-TEEN-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1608.jpg?v=1720137497"},{"product_id":"clethra-tomentosa-woodlanders-sarah","title":"Clethra tomentosa ‘Woodlander's Sarah’","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe summersweets are among the most fragrant of American shrubs, and the southern woolly summersweet, \u003cem\u003eClethra tomentosa\u003c\/em\u003e, carries the whole tribe's gifts: colonies of upright stems in moist, acid ground, and terminal spikes of white flowers that pour a honey-and-clove perfume across the July garden. Country people knew the plant as Sweet Pepperbush, for the peppercorn seed heads, and the crushed flowers even raise a soft lather once used as a woodland soap.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Woodlander's Sarah' adds a painter's touch to that fragrant foundation. The green leaves are boldly speckled and splashed with cream, a stronger, more emphatic variegation than the related 'Creel's Calico', so the whole shrub seems dappled with light even before the flowers open. The story behind the plant is pure Woodlanders: in Charleston County, South Carolina, a young lady named Sarah spotted a single variegated sport standing out among a wild population of ordinary green summersweets, and that lucky eye gave the plant a name and a place in the trade.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite 'Woodlander's Sarah' where the variegated foliage can brighten a moist, part-shaded corner and the summer fragrance can be met in passing: a pond edge, a shaded walk, or a damp mixed border. The colony spreads gently by root to fill a wet spot, and the leaves light up shade the way few flowering shrubs manage. Pair with ferns, itea, and plain-green companions that let the speckling read.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057843212403,"sku":"CLET-TOME-WOOD-SARA-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1802.jpg?v=1720137500"},{"product_id":"clethra-tomentosa-cottondale","title":"Clethra tomentosa 'Cottondale'","description":"\u003cp\u003eClethra alnifolia and the southern Clethra tomentosa are stoloniferous deciduous shrubs commonly called Summersweet or Sweet Pepperbush. They form colonies in moist acid soil and make good garden subjects. They are valued for their terminal spikes of fragrant white flowers in summer. Plant in sun or semi-shade and provide adequate moisture. This clone of the southern species has light colored backs of leaves and amazing flower racemes up to 16 inches long! This Woodlanders introduction is a plant we selected from the wild in the Florida Panhandle. It was the highest rated Clethra clone tested in trials at Longwood Gardens. Clethra tomentosa is native to the southern U.S.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057843343475,"sku":"CLET-TOME-COTT-01G","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1348.jpg?v=1720137506"}],"url":"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/collections\/clethra.oembed","provider":"Woodlanders","version":"1.0","type":"link"}