Deciduous shrubs with fragrant summer blooms are a must-have for any landscape project. Bringing both beauty and ambiance, these shrubs are a fantastic way to enhance any garden, whether naturalized, wild, or heavily landscaped. The key is to choose a shrub that is both low maintenance and eye-catching, such as the Clethra alnifolia.
Also known as ‘Sweet Pepperbush,’ Clethra alnifolia is a deciduous shrub noted for producing sweetly fragrant flowers in the late summer. These flowers are extremely attractive to butterflies and bees and go well with the plant’s glossy dark green leaves. And since the plant is an East Coast native, there are few worries when it comes to its durability and tolerance for wet conditions.
Instead, the only thing you must decide is what specific cultivar to use for your project. We prefer both the standard Clethra alnifolia (with white flowers) as well as the Clethra alnifolia ‘Ruby Spice’ variety (with rose-pink flowers).
Clethra Alnifolia
The Clethra alnifolia shrub—commonly called ‘Summer Sweet’—is the gold standard for Sweet Pepperbushes. It’s noted for producing fragrant white flowers in mid to late summer.
- Plant Type: Deciduous Shrub
- Zones: 3 - 4
- Height: 8 feet
- Spread: 6 feet
- Colors: glossy dark green leaves with white flowers
- Light: Full sun to partial sun
- Water: Medium to wet
- Uses: hedge, rain garden, mass group plantings, foundation planting, woodland gardens
- Benefits: fragrant late summer blooms, good flowering shrub in shade, no serious disease or insect problems, tolerant of clay and wet soil, attractive to birds and butterflies, low maintenance
This beautiful flowering shrub falls into a unique category of deciduous shrubs native to the East Coast—from Main to Florida. It is best known for producing prolific late summer blooms of sweetly fragrant white flowers. These flowers grow in narrow, upright panicles between 2-6 inches in length and are highly attractive to butterflies and bees. In the fall, the flowers give way to brown seed capsules, which can persist into winter.
Compact in size, the Clethra alnifolia shrub grows to just 3-8 feet in height and 4-6 feet in spread. And with glossy dark green leaves, which transform into beautiful shades of yellow and golden brown in the fall, this plant is a great choice for any type of woodland or cottage garden landscape. It works effectively as a hedge near patios or alongside water or in areas where land is in short supply.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Best grown in partial shade, the Clethra alnifolia is tolerant of both clay soil as well as damp soil. It is native to swampy woodlands, wet marshes, and water banks. This makes it an appropriate choice for hedging alongside streams and ponds, as well as in shaded woodland areas.
Relatively low maintenance, the Clethra alnifolia can bloom in shady locations when most other shrubs lack the same ability. It also handles pruning in the late winter. Otherwise, it has no significant negative characteristics, including no serious insect or disease problems.
Alternate Cultivar: Clethra alnifolia ‘Ruby Spice’
For a slightly different version of the standard Clethra alnifolia, we recommend our ‘Ruby Spice’ cultivar.
- Plant Type: Deciduous Shrub
- Zones: 4 - 8
- Height: 6 feet
- Spread: 5 feet
- Colors: glossy dark green leaves with rose-pink flowers
- Light: Full sun to partial sun
- Water: Medium to wet
- Uses: hedge, rain garden, mass group plantings, foundation planting, woodland gardens
- Benefits: fragrant late summer blooms, good flowering shrub in shade, no serious disease or insect problems, tolerant of clay and wet soil, attractive to birds and butterflies, low maintenance
The ‘Ruby Spice’ cultivar was discovered in 1992 and is most noted for its highly fragrant rose-pink flowers. Otherwise, it is almost identical in all other respects to the standard Clethra alnifolia. The main differences between the two Pepperbushes being that the ‘Ruby Spice’ has a slightly larger zone tolerance and a smaller shrub size—just 4-6 feet in height and 3-5 feet in spread.
A Woodland Garden Dreamscape
When working on a landscape with wet soil, the Clethra alnifolia sweet pepperbush—including the ‘Ruby Spice’ cultivar—is an excellent choice for a flowering shrub. It makes the perfect border or hedge for shaded woodlands or water gardens. And since it is easy to naturalize and maintain, you can count on it to thrive for years to come.
If you'd like to find out more about the field operation and growing process at our Maryland wholesale nursery that results in outstanding plant material, download our ebook The Waverly Farm Playbook for Growing Outstanding Landscape Stock Year Over Year.
