Summersweet is 3 to 10 feet tall and 3 to 8 feet wide at maturity. You say to plant "around" the patio, does that mean you are looking at planting several? I wouldn't give up on your sweetspires, though. The flowers are produced on vertical flower spikes about 6 inches long that protrude from the glossy green foliage. Find locations near you that offer Proven Winners products. Itea needs little maintenance. Then watch for a return of the leaf-spotting and scale. Get complete site access to expert advice, regional content, and more, plus the print magazine. Tolerates full shade. Had beautiful red Then, fall. Compact habit is excellent for small gardens. Water regularly as needed so the soil does not dry out. It works well in a naturalized landscape or garden. 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. Discover the right shrubs for your garden. 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Make sure there are other plants around, as the plant will look bare until the leaves appear at the end of spring. In early spring, fertilize your summersweet with a slow-release formula meant for trees and shrubs. I find the fragrance of the Clethra more dramatic but find the fall foliage of 'Little Henry' one of the best fall foliage plants. Top 20 Native Shrubs for Sun and Shade - Smithsonian Gardens '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. The Latin name for summersweet is Clethra alnifolia. This compact Sweetspire starts out the summer with a beautiful display of fragrant white flowers that blanket the shrub. Browse reviews from people who have grown this plant. SUMMERSWEET VARIETIES LANDSCAPING IDEAS BASICS Zones: 4-9 Plant type: Deciduous shrub Native area: Eastern and southern North America Exposure: Full sun to part shade Mature size: Typically 3 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide, with the exception of dwarf varieties Growth rate: Slow Bloom time: Will grow in shade, but flowering and fall color improves when the plant gets at least some sun each day. Be inspired with our Gardener's Idea Book and Winner's Circle newsletter, Little Henry - Sweetspire - Itea virginica. Effective as a hedge. The first thing that occurs to me is that your plants are stressed in some way. Sweetspire is an easy-care shrub, about four feet by four feet (1.2 by 1.2 meters) at maturity that isn't fussy about soil or weather conditions. Not fussy about soil pH. Its small stature makes it a nice choice for adding color and scent to perennial gardens. One of the darkest pink-flowered cultivars, flaunting deep rosy pink flowers notable for retaining their color intensity without fading. It is originally from eastern and southern North America, but grows naturally along the Atlantic coast and west to Texas. Does well in sun or shade, dry or wet soil, all types of soil (normal, clay or sandy) & nice red fall color! Grow taller varieties as hedges or privacy screens or as a backdrop in a perennial garden. To reverse this problem, it's important to make the soil more acidic. Features fragrant, tiny white flowers borne in cylindrical, drooping racemes (3-6" long) which cover the shrub . USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9. This compact selection reaches 3 to 5 feet tall. Summersweet prefers moist soil and even grows well in areas with standing water. Sugartina 'Crystalina' Summersweet. It prefers a slightly acidic pH but grows well in a range of soils. Create appealing and long-lasting planting judywhite / GardenPhotos.com, Botanik Foto. Such dieback in winter means the loss of some of the flower buds that produce blooms in spring. They were purchased at 3 different times of the year from 2 different sellers in spring 2019. . Serrate, obovate to oblong, glossy dark green leaves (to 3-4 long) turn variable but generally attractive shades of yellow to golden brown in fall. Vanilla Spice Buy now from Proven Winners. This Sugartina has fragrant white flowers that appear by mid-summer. If so, and the site is suitable, maybe do a mixed planting. * Required | We will never sell or distribute your email to any other parties or organizations. Growing Zones: 3-8 . Plant Scentlandia itea near a window or outdoor area where you can enjoy its fragrance. I admire it daily as I walk past it and it feels like it is different every day. 21 Low-Maintenance Plants. It prefers acidic, sandy soil that is moist but will tolerate clay soils, as long as they're amended with organic material, and full shade. I would another, If i had space for it. Use clean garden shears to cut 3- to 4-inch cuttings, taken in the morning, from well-established healthy plants. Keep soil moist to wet. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. ProblemsFungal dieback and root rot can occur. When planted right and in the right spot, Clethra, also called summersweet or sweet pepperbush, are very easy to grow. Because clethra bloom on new growth, prune during winter or early spring to avoid removing developing flower buds. The foliage of the Little Henry Sweetspire is stunning. Once spring comes, you can rake it away. However, I did not get any blooms this year. Julie Thompson-Adolf is a Master Gardener and author. Its small size makes it perfect for smaller borders and beds. Its natural environment includes wet and swampy areas of woodland as well as marshes and river banks. Warmer climates call for more shade. The runners arent extremely aggressive. Planted Little Henry last fall. Place your shrub in the hole, gently spreading out the roots, and then backfill to ground level and water well. It was discovered in 1992 as a sport of C. alnifolia Pink Spire. Consider the hours of sunlight you wish your summersweet to receive during its growing season. It enjoys, Promptly remove root suckers unless a naturalized look is desired. I just planted it this season so I will have to update my review on its performance once it is established. In June and July, sweetspire bears lovely spikes of fragrant, white blossoms. The shrub grows best in partial shade and a moist, slightly acid soil. Then I'd look for an afternoon-shade location and transplant the stubby remnants and roots there. To create additional collections, you must be a paid member of our site. Politique d'Utilisation des Cookies de Houzz. Full shade is tolerated. Because of its versatility and modest size, summersweet bush has a multitude of uses in both formal and informal gardens. For one thing, they're survivors that'll often keep coming back year after year even though they're suffering disease or bug issues. 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. 3 5 comments Best Add a Comment halfbajan 2 yr. ago Hi there! I have a grouping of Little Henry Sweetspire right near my patio and love it. She is a former Clemson University Extension Agent. 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. The species is native to the eastern United States. Red and Black Chokeberry. Several popular cultivars of Virginia Sweetspire are available, including: You can prune Virginia sweetspire to shape it or control its size, but pruning is not otherwise necessary. Problems With Itea Virginica | Home Guides | SF Gate Clay and wet soil tolerant. In such climates, plant it along woodland edges where it gets partial shade, which will help the plants stay cool and thrive. 'Sixteen Candles' sweet pepperbush, or summersweet, is a newer cultivar of a popular native shrub. Nice plant for an area you want to be filled in away from the house where deer are not a problem. Soils should not be allowed to dry out. They will thrive in coastal areas as well because of their resistance to salt spray and brackish water. The serrated, glossy, dark green foliage turns golden-yellow in fall. The fall color on this plant is brilliant. When the root system is well-established and trying to fight its way out of the container, it's time to plant it in the landscape. Find out where you fall in the USDA Hardiness Zones database. 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. Best all around shrub in my opinion. Scentlandia sweetspire delivers on all three! 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). Also the facts that should be considered when making a choice:-itea could tolerate both, full sun and part-shade, while clethra prefer to be in a more shady locations,-fall foliage of itea is very attractive crimson-burgundy, while clethra's is yellow-bronze,-itea blooms on old wood and could be/should be pruned if necessary right after the bloom, clethra blooms on a new wood and could be/should be pruned in early spring,-itea leafs out early, while clethra stays 'naked' till May. Ruby Spice grows to about 4 to 6 feet tall and almost as wide, making this shrub suitable for a bed or border, a woodland or shade garden, or a waterside planting. Has a compact habit similar to Hummingbird but with sturdier branches that hold the slender 6-inch flower spikes upright like candles rather than allowing them to flop over. Because it blooms on old wood (previous year's growth), pruning should be done immediately after blooming so that the plant can develop the wood necessary for next year's blooms. Photo by: Tim Ludwig / Millette Photomedia. My understanding is both summersweet and virginia sweetspire would be good potential candidates for this location, but was wondering if one would be better suited (i.e. It is also wet site tolerant. Provide moist, humus-rich, slightly acidic, well . The description of these plants has been written based on numerous outside resources. The scent and flowers are perfect in the garden and the winter interest color is gorgeous. 2023 Proven Winners North America LLC. Definitely loved by the deer and it colonizes out of control. 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, or Clethra alnifolia, is a shrub that can tolerate areas of standing water and still thrive. A sharp spade can be used to cut away a section of the root ball around the edge, which can be replanted wherever you want it. Summersweet tolerates clay soil and full shade. So if you'd rather have the fragrant blooms of clethra in the summer (patio season? Itea is one of the few shrubs that will still flower reasonably well even in shade. Sweetspires are supposedly versatile and not picky about soil, but I see them doing best in damp soil that's well drained, rich in organic matter, and sited in morning sun and afternoon shade. This is a good plant for woodland gardens or at the front of the mixed border. of the member-only content library. Its mounded, compact stature makes it an improvement over older varieties such as the old favorite 'Henry's Garnet'. 20 Fragrant Flowering Plants Except for fertilization and minor pruning, this plant is maintenance-free. It also attracts hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Use a 3-inch layer of organic mulch to protect your summersweet in the winter. Native to the woodlands of eastern North America, it is a good choice for woodland borders. Scentlandia - Sweetspire - Itea virginica | Proven Winners I am adding an iron product to the soil and hope that it improves the health of the plants. Noteworthy CharacteristicsFragrant flowers. 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.