Clethra Sugartina™

No sunny garden is complete without Clethra, and Sugartina™ brings you all the joy of this native shrub in a smaller, neater package! Never more than 3 feet high, it blooms heavily, is sweetly fragrant, and offers bright yellow fall foliage for a second season of beauty. Who could ask for anything more? Certainly not the butterflies -- they adore this easy-care shrub!

In late summer, just as much of the sunny garden is shutting down for the season, Sugartina™ bursts into bloom, with giant white bottlebrushes all over the tight, densely-branched habit. The fragrance is sweet and intense, hearkening back to the glory of late spring and early summer in the garden (when so many things are blooming!), and altogether the experience is like getting a second lease on summertime!

Just 28 to 36 inches high and no more than 4 feet wide, Sugartina™ is a compact little shrub for the foundation, along the driveway, in the sunny border, or in the meadow or cottage garden. It needs very little attention from you beyond placement in well-drained soil with plenty of sunshine. Pamper it the first year to get it established, then let it go! It never needs pruning, and even the deer leave it alone!

Butterflies adore Clethra, making Sugartina™ an excellent choice for a butterfly-attracting garden, right at home among the Buddleia, Asclepias, and Rudbeckia.

After the blooms pass, the foliage turns bright yellow and remains that way for many weeks in autumn before dropping for winter. While it doesn't have the brilliance of, say, a Japanese Maple (but what does?!), Sugartina™ still stands out nicely in the fall garden. And with its native resistance to disease, pests, heat, humidity, and cold, it's simply a carefree delight!

Bred by North Carolina State University, Sugartina™ is descended from Ruby Spice, one of the most beloved of all Clethra varieties (and itself very compact, though not quite as dwarf as Sugartina™!). You will find it true-blue dependable and lovely for many, many years. Find a home for it in your garden this season! Zones 4-9.