previous
  • Comfortable Alfresco Dining
    Comfortable Alfresco Dining
  • Fragrant Plants for Pathways
    Fragrant Plants for Pathways
  • Lawn Alternatives
    Lawn Alternatives
  • Colorful Selections for Shade
    Colorful Selections for Shade
  • Stylish Shady Containers
    Stylish Shady Containers
  • Designing with Curved Terraces
    Designing with Curved Terraces
  • Pretty in Pink
    Pretty in Pink
  • Thoughts From a Foreign Field
    Thoughts From a Foreign Field
  • Homegrown / Homemade
    Homegrown / Homemade
  • Containers as Focal Points
    Containers as Focal Points
  • Dwarf Citrus Trees
    Dwarf Citrus Trees
  • 6 Tips for Weed Control
    6 Tips for Weed Control
  • Save Money by Growing Your Own
    Save Money by Growing Your Own
  • Make a Succulent Topiary
    Make a Succulent Topiary
  • Plants that Spark!
    Plants that Spark!
  • Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
    Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
  • Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
    Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
  • Elephant's Ears
    Elephant's Ears
  • Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
    Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
  • Building a Compost Bin
    Building a Compost Bin
  • In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
    In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
  • Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
    Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
  • NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
    NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
  • Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
    Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
  • Mulch for a Healthy Garden
    Mulch for a Healthy Garden
next
Find a plant:

OR Browse All Plants


Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' (summersweet, sweet pepperbush)

Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' Photo/Illustration: Steve Aitken


Be the first to rate this plant

Plant Showcase - from our advertisers


Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Botanical Name: Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' KLETH-rah all-nih-FOE-lee-ah Common Name: summersweet, sweet pepperbush Genus: Clethra
This summersweet is a sport of C. alnifolia 'Pink Spires'. Its fragrant, bottlebrush flowers are a darker pink; they attract butterflies, bees, and other insects in late summer and early fall. '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. Its yellow fall color extends the season of interest.
 Noteworthy characteristics: Fragrant flowers. Attracts butterflies. Tolerates full shade. The species is native to the eastern U.S.
 Care: Provide full sun to part shade and fertile, preferably acidic, medium to wet soil. Summersweet will tolerate clay soil and full shade.
 Propagation: Take greenwood cuttings in early summer.
 Problems: Infrequent.
Height 3 ft. to 6 ft.
Spread 3 ft. to 6 ft.
Light Full Sun to Part Shade
Moisture Medium to Wet
Maintenance Low
Characteristics Attracts Butterflies; Fragrant Flowers; Native; Showy Fall Foliage; Showy Flowers
Bloom Time Early Fall; Late Summer
Flower Color Pink Flower
Uses Beds and Borders, Waterside
Style Shade, Cottage Garden, Woodland Garden
Seasonal Interest Summer Interest, Fall Interest
Type Shrubs

Plants you might also like

no image available Clethra alnifolia 'Pink Spire'
(Summersweet, Sweet Pepperbush) Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Very fragrant, light pink bottlebrush flowers grace this native shrub in late summer and early fall, attracting butterflies and other insects and perfuming the garden for weeks. Plant it in beds or borders, in a woodland or shade garden, or at waterside. It also has nice fall color.
Rosa 'Frau Dagmar Hastrup' Rosa 'Frau Dagmar Hastrup'
(Hedgehog rose, Ramanas rose, Japanese rose, Sea tomato) (1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This choice rose has single, gently cupped light-pink flowers that exude an intense, clove-scented perfume. It blooms in spring and sporadically throughout the season, and produces red hips. In autumn, the foliage turns deep maroon, which changes to yellow tinged with coppery highlights. It grows to 3 to 4 feet high and wide.   
Rosa rugosa var. alba Rosa rugosa var. alba
(Hedgehog rose, Ramanas rose, Japanese rose, Sea tomato) Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This variety has single, papery white blossoms that open from light pink buds and have contrasting yellow stamens. The heavily-scented flowers are followed by reddish-orange hips. It grows up to 6 feet high.
Rosa 'Charles Albanel' Rosa 'Charles Albanel'
(Hedgehog rose, Ramanas rose, Japanese rose, Sea tomato) Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This spreading rose grows to only 2 feet tall, making it an ideal groundcover for a steep bank or roadside. It produces fragrant, double, deep-pink blossoms from spring to fall.  
Clethra alnifolia 'Hummingbird' Clethra alnifolia 'Hummingbird'
(Sweet pepperbush) Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This upright, suckering shrub bears creamy white, deliciously spicy clove-scented flowers in dense, upright spikes that last four to six weeks in July and August. It is more compact than the species. Flowers mature to spikes of dark brown capsules that provide winter interest. Its oval, glossy dark green leaves turn a pleasant yellow in autumn.