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Growing Guides

Summersweet Clethra

Summersweet Clethra (Clethra alnifolia) is an American native, growing naturally from Maine to Florida. Though it's been a landscape plant since about 1731, new cultivars with attractive and descriptive names are catching the attention of gardeners.

The attention is well deserved because Clethra's attributes are many:

  • The white to pink flowers are produced on 2 to 6" long racemes above the foliage.
  • It flowers in July.
  • The flower fragrance is very sweet.
  • The bright glossy green foliage turns bright yellow in the autumn.
  • It grows in full sun to full shade, but flowers and colors better in the fall in sunnier spots.
  • It is very pest-free.

Plant Clethra in moist, acidic, rich soil liberally amended with organic matter. Mulch to about 2" deep with shredded hardwood, cedar, cypress or hardwood bark chips to reduce immediate weed pressure and maintain reasonably consistent moisture levels.

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Hoerr Nursery  |   8020 N Shade Tree Drive  |  Peoria, IL 61615
Just North of the Shoppes on Route 91  |  309.691.4561  |  Contact Us
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