ShrubsSummersweet
Clethra alnifolia
Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) is a medium-growing shrub, hardy in USDA zones 3-9, that matures to about 3-8 ft × 4-6 ft. It does best in full sun and part shade with high water needs in well-drained, moist and occasionally-dry soil. Expect pink and white blooms in summer. It attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, stands up well to deer, erosion and fire, grows happily in containers.
- USDA zones
- 3-9
- Sun
- Full sun, Part shade
- Water
- High
- Mature size
- 3-8 ft × 4-6 ft
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Maintenance
- Low
- Soil
- Well-drained, Moist, Occasionally-dry, Occasionally-wet
- Bloom color
- Pink, White
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Attracts
- Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Pollinators, Small mammals, Songbirds
- Tough against
- Deer, Erosion, Fire, Pests, Salt, Wet soil
- Native to
- Eastern and southern North America
In the landscape
Data sources
Freeze survival
Will it survive your winters?
Hardiness zones show a normal bad winter. We check the worst one — Summersweet is hardy to about -40°F (estimated from USDA zone 3), so we'll score it against the real coldest nights your area has actually had.
Powered by ~35 years of daily lows from the nearest NOAA weather station. A risk read, not a guarantee — a sheltered spot or mature plant beats the odds.
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