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Sugartina® 'Crystalina' Summersweet (Clethra)

Shrub

21 total reviews

  • Summer flowers have a sweet, intoxicating fragrance!
  • Glossy green foliage turns bright yellow in fall.
  • Landscape-friendly dwarf habit.
  • Deer resistant and easy to grow.
  • Zones 4-9, sun/part sun/shade, 3' tall x 4' wide at maturity.
  • ZONE
  • EXPOSURE
  • HEIGHT
Size: One Quart
Regular price $33.00
Sale price Sale: $33.00 Regular price Each
Total: $33.00
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Hand-Picked at Our Greenhouse
Shipped to Your Door
Arrives as a Young Plant
60 Day Risk-Free Guarantee
Hand-Picked at Our Greenhouse
Shipped to Your Door
Arrives as a Young Plant
60 Day Risk-Free Guarantee
Hand-Picked at Our Greenhouse
Shipped to Your Door
Arrives as a Young Plant
60 Day Risk-Free Guarantee
Hand-Picked at Our Greenhouse
Shipped to Your Door
Arrives as a Young Plant
60 Day Risk-Free Guarantee
Hand-Picked at Our Greenhouse
Shipped to Your Door
Arrives as a Young Plant
60 Day Risk-Free Guarantee
Hand-Picked at Our Greenhouse
Shipped to Your Door
Arrives as a Young Plant
60 Day Risk-Free Guarantee

Description

Sugartina® 'Crystalina' summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) is a fantastic native shrub that gives you fragrance, fall color, and more. Glossy, dark green foliage turns brilliant yellow in fall. In mid-summer, white flower spikes cover the shrub. Some people say they smell like vanilla; others say root beer. Either way, it's deliciously intoxicating in the warm summer air. Don't be surprised if you see pollinators buzzing around the flowers. Proven Winners ColorChoice shrubs selected Sugartina® 'Crystalina' summersweet for its landscape-friendly dwarf habit. It grows just 2.5-3' tall and 3-4' wide, compared to the 6’+ that other summersweet varieties reach. There are two more qualities you'll love: it's very deer resistant and grows well in wet or poorly drained soils. It's one of the best flowering shrubs for shade, making it versatile for landscaping, wildlife gardens, flower gardens, and pollinator gardens.

Details

Botanical name: Clethra alnifolia 'Crystalina'
Patent: USPP 21,561
Common name: Summersweet, Clethra
Zone: 4 - 9
Sun exposure: Sun (> 6 hours sun) to part-sun (4-6 hours sun)
Height x width: 2.5-3' tall and 3-4' wide
Flower color: White
Foliage color: Glossy green
Season of interest: Summer-fall
Bloom time: Summer
Features: Wet soils, space savers, Proven Winners, native, low flammability, heat tolerant, fragrant, fall color, deer resistant, cold tolerant
Uses: Specimen, flower gardens, backdrop, landscaping, pollinator gardens, wildlife gardens, native plant gardens

How to Grow

Soil: Though it can tolerate some dryness once established, summersweet does best in moist, even wet soils. Where it grows wild, it is often found alongside rivers and streams.
Light: Sun (> 6 hours sun) to part-sun (4-6 hours sun) to shade (<4 hours direct sun/day).
Water: Moderate to wet.
Space: Min. 3' apart
Fertilizing: Little fertilizer is needed.
Winterizing: No special treatment is required. A 2-3" layer of shredded bark mulch is recommended.
Maintenance: No special care is required. Trim as needed in early spring.

6 Fragrant Flowers for Spring

Lots of the most beloved fragrant plants bloom in spring and early summer; they’re the perfect way to welcome back the growing season and the return of spending time outdoors. We’re sharing some of our all-time favorite fragrant plants in spring here. Plant them and create your own fragrant memories this season.

Get inspired

Plant spacing is based on the ultimate width of the plants. This figure is normally given as a range; for example, 3-5’. If you live in a cold climate and/or want plants to fill in more quickly, plan to space at the shorter end of the range. If you live in a warm climate, are on a limited budget, or are willing to wait longer for plants to touch, use the higher end of the range. Using the larger number is recommended when calculating distance from a building or structure. There’s really no such thing as "maximum spacing": if you don’t want your plants to touch, you can space them as far apart as you’d like. All plant spacing is calculated on center, or in other words, the centers of the plants are spaced one half of their eventual width apart:

bush distance

Unless you are planting in a straight line, as you might for hedges or edging, space your plants in a staggered or zig-zag pattern for a more interesting and naturalistic look:

bush distance zigzag

Not sure just how many plants will fit in your garden? Our calculator gives you the exact amount of plants required for your space. Simply update the values and the calculator will re-calculate accordingly. Spacing information can be found in the 'How to Grow' tab on each plant's page.

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