Overview
Uses: Foundation plantings, borders, mass plantings, low hedges, rain gardens, and pollinator gardens.
Benefits: Fragrant white flower spikes open in several flushes, one after another, carrying the bloom well past a single summer show. A dense, compact native shrub that grows in wet soil and part shade.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4–10
Sun: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Life Cycle: Deciduous Shrub
Growth Habit: Upright, Rounded — dense and compact.
Bloom Color: White
Mature Height: 3–5 feet
Mature Width: 3–4 feet
Bloom Season: Summer
Growth Rate: Slow to Moderate
Summary
Sweet summer fragrance that keeps coming back, flush after flush.
Summersweet is a native shrub of eastern North American swamps and coastal woods, prized for blooming in midsummer when most shrubs are finished. Ripple Effect® was selected to keep that season going: instead of a single round of flowers, it sends up several flushes of fragrant white spikes one after another.
The spicy-sweet scent drifts across a yard on warm evenings, and the flowers draw a steady stream of bees and butterflies. In autumn the leaves turn a blend of warm fall colors before they drop.
At about 3 to 5 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide, it stays dense and compact enough for foundation beds and low hedges. It is also one of the best flowering shrubs for damp ground: it handles wet, acidic soil and low spots, and blooms even in part shade.
Care
Ripple Effect® Summersweet Care
Plant in full sun to partial shade. It flowers in shade, but bloom, fragrance, and fall color are strongest with at least four hours of sun.
Summersweet likes moist to wet, acidic soil and grows in clay. It tolerates damp sites and some dryness once established. Avoid alkaline soil.
Water deeply once or twice a week through the first growing season, and during dry spells after that. Mulch helps keep the soil evenly moist.
Feeding needs are light. A slow release fertilizer for acid-loving plants in early spring is plenty.
It blooms on new wood, so prune in late winter or early spring if needed. Summersweet leafs out late in spring; bare stems in April are normal, not a sign the plant has died.
Size
What Size is the Ripple Effect® Summersweet for Sale Online?
Our Ripple Effect® Summersweet ships in a greenhouse-grade grow pot and is appropriately sized for its container at the time of shipment. Plants ship dormant or near dormant in the off-season, so they may arrive with few or no leaves. If you have specific sizing or planting questions, please contact us.
How Large Does Ripple Effect® Summersweet Grow?
Expect about 3 to 5 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide at maturity. For a low hedge or mass planting, space plants about 3 feet apart.
Additional Information
What is the botanical name of Ripple Effect® Summersweet?
The botanical name is Clethra alnifolia Ripple Effect® ‘SMNCAC’. Browse more Proven Winners® plants.
What are some common names for this plant?
- Summersweet
- Sweet pepperbush
- Clethra
Is summersweet native?
Yes. Summersweet is native to eastern North America, from Maine to Florida and along the Gulf Coast. Ripple Effect® is a selection of the native species, often called a nativar. Browse more Native Plants of North America.
Is it deer resistant?
Summersweet is one of the flowering shrubs deer tend to pass by, which makes it useful for borders in deer country. See more Deer-Resistant Shrubs and Evergreens.
Will it grow in a wet spot?
Yes. In the wild, summersweet grows along swamps and stream banks, and it is a reliable pick for rain gardens, low areas that stay damp, and the edges of ponds.
