Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' (Pink Summersweet)

'Ruby Spice', is a cultivar of Clethra alnifolia, also called summersweet or sweet pepperbush, a coastal wetland shrub native to the eastern United States. As with most summersweet, the real draw for 'Ruby Spice' is the flowers, and this cultivar produces a profusion of fragrant rose-pink flower spikes that bloom from mid to late summer; while both 'Pink Spire' and 'Ruby Spice' are pink cultivars, 'Ruby Spice' produces darker and more consistently pink blooms over the white and shell-pink blooms of 'Pink Spire.' No matter the exact color, however, fragrant summersweet flowers bloom through the summer, and are attractive to pollinators of all kinds, but especially butterflies and hummingbirds. After summer blooms begin to fade, Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' begins to pick up its attractive fall color of golden yellow, adding multi-season interest.

'Ruby Spice' summersweet is a standard sized Clethra variety, and although it typically grows smaller than some standard cultivars like 'Pink Spire' or the parent species, 'Ruby Spice' still grows to a size of 4-6' tall and 3-5' wide. Since summersweets tend to be multi-stemmed and suckering, it's important to choose an appropriately sized location for your 'Ruby Spice.' However, with a more moderate size than 'Pink Spire,' this cultivar displays beautifully when planted in masses or hedges, when mixed into pollinator gardens or woodland borders, or when used in rain gardens and wetland restoration projects. Naturally found in coastal wetland areas or floodplains, Clethra alnifolia grows best in wetter areas with acidic, sandy soils and full sun exposure, but is not at all picky, and will tolerate drier soils as well as perpetually wet clay soils, and even those with some salt content.