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Cold-hardy varieties and everything you need to grow them

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‘Ruby Spice’ Summersweet

plants

Clethra alnifolia

4-5' × same. Sport of ‘Pink Spires.’ Broken Arrow Nursery, Hamden, Conn., 1992.Also known as Sweet Pepperbush. Red buds and beautiful spires of heavenly scented deep-pink flowers appear on racemes for six weeks in midsummer. Bees and butterflies love it. Whorls of extremely attractive finely serrated distinctly veined glossy dark green foliage turn deep gold in fall. Dangling racemes of “black peppercorns” persist into the next growing season.

Erect oval habit, often suckering to form dense colonies. Slow growing. Prefers acid moist well-drained soils. A good shrub to border streams and ponds. Will tolerate salty coastal conditions. Full sun to shade. Easy to grow. Species native Maine to Florida. Z3. (plugs)

ships in spring

7566 ‘Ruby Spice’ Summersweet

A: 1 ea

$17.00

Shipping

Items from our perennial plants warehouse ordered on or before February 20 will ship from early March through early May, starting with warmer areas and finishing in colder areas.

Orders placed after February 20 will ship from late April through early-to-mid May.

Additional Information

Small Trees and Shrubs

As Green’s Nursery catalog from 1904 explains, “There are many trees that by pruning can be made to resemble shrubs, and many shrubs that by different pruning may be made to produce medium-sized trees.”