The Garden Club July 13, 2007

Fragrant Native Summer - Blooming Shrub for Difficult Places
Whether you call it Summersweet or Sweet Pepperbush, one thing is certain: one East Coast native Clethra alternifolia shrub will perfume the entire garden. The spicy-sweet fragrance is especially noticeable in the evening. During the day the 4-6 inch, fluffy, bottle brush-like flower spikes attract butterflies as well as our ever-scarcer pollinating bees during the 4-6 week mid-summer bloom period. Dark brown seed capsules, resembling peppercorns, follow in fall and remain until spring, attracting birds through the winter.

Sweet Pepperbush is native along the East Coast all the way from Maine to Florida, so you know it's adaptable. It grows naturally in moist, partially shaded places usually at the edge of a woodland, often in large masses along a stream. However, Clethra will perform handsomely in a broad range of conditions: full sun with adequate moisture, dry shade - the most difficult of all gardening conditions, even bog-like conditions. Summersweet will exist, but perform poorly, in full sunny, dry places. Clethra alnifolia is always near the top of any list of desirable East Coast native plants.

Rich Rose Pink Clethra 'Ruby Spice' - Multiple Award Winner
As with so many of our native plants, the hybridizers and plant selectors have been busy at work. The flowers of Clethra alnifolia are usually white; although occasionally a light pink form has been found. One of these, Pink Spires, developed a deeper pink branch sport in Connecticut. This branch proved to be stable; it was separated, propagated and christened 'Ruby Spice.' This selection is the longest flowering of all of the Clethras, with blooms that do not fade and hold their color for the full bloom period. Color will always be pink but deepest color is achieved with some sun. The rose pink flowers are the most attractive to hummingbirds of all of the Summersweets. It has unusually lustrous, leathery deep green leaves and the habit is somewhat denser and a little more compact than the straight species. Before the leaves drop, the foliage turns brilliant golden yellow for several weeks in the fall. Clethra 'Ruby Spice' is a shrub of true multi-season interest.

'Ruby Spice' grows about 6 feet tall in a narrow, upright, round-topped form that colonizes slowly into masses by underground suckers. It is particularly useful to fill in narrow places. I often use Clethra in a narrow planting bed to surround a raised deck.

Planting and Care

Unusually adaptable. Does best in light shade in moist, well drained soil. Do not site in full sun in a very dry location.
Plant in Zones 4-9. Site away from winter winds in Zones 4-6.
Does best in a compost-enhanced soil. Requires an acid soil.
Keep well watered until plant is fully established. Thereafter Clethra is very drought tolerant.
No major insect of disease problems.
Deer-resistant. Tolerates both road salt and seashore conditions.
Fertilize with Cotton Seed Meal and Kelp Meal when planting; every year in early spring and again in late autumn.

One plant $28.85 from 2 gallon pots. Buy 3 or more for $24.85 each.

Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice'

Garden Club Questions and Answers

Question: I had a lawn/tree/shrub company come out and tell me that I have lace bugs and weevils on my plants. I have researched lace bugs and it appears that I do have them on my 5 azaleas as they appear with white spots and now certain spots are turning brown like they were burnt. I have read to spray them on the underside with a garden hose and use insecticidal soap, horticultural oil or Neem oil on the under leaves but to do this in the spring. Can I still treat them now? Is this what I should be using? I haven't seen any weevils, what plants will they attack, what can I do to get rid of them? Thanks. I enjoy reading your e-newsletters.

Answer: I doubt that spraying the undersides of the leaves with a garden hose will do much. You can use oils and soaps now, but you must thoroughly spray the undersides of the leaves. Do so on a cool day when the temperature is not forecasted to go over 80 degrees for 24 hours. Instead, I recommend Bonide Systemic Insect Killer as being much more effective and longer lasting. Even so, a couple of applications are usually required. I can't tell you much more about the weevils. There are many types that attack many various plants. For many of them, the same Bonide Systemic Insecticide works well.

Question: Hello! I am wondering if you can help me. I have a small flower bed in my front yard (faces west with lots of full sun) with knockout shrub roses, heath, and irises. The bed has a wood border. This morning, a yellow substance appeared on the wood. It reminds me of those pink marshmallow snowball things you used to be able to find in vending machines, only it's bright yellow (and about the size of two of those snowball marshmallows). This thing is freaking me out. I can only assume it is some type of fungus. It apparently appeared overnight as it was not there yesterday. I poked it with a stick (swallowing my fears that it would reach up and grab me) and it's gooey inside. Have you heard of this before? Is it of this planet? And most importantly, how do I make it go away?

Answer: At this time of year many types of fungi appear overnight. Some are mushrooms or toadstools; many are yellow and lay flat like a very thin pancake; some are puffballs like yours and there are many other types as well. This is absolutely normal; an indication of biologically active soil. There is nothing you can do to prevent them. But, once they have appeared, you can easily destroy them with a rake.

Question: I have a beautiful, 10-year-old tree peony that is now being crowded out by another shrub. When can I transplant it? How do I transplant it? What aftercare should I give it to re-establish it successfully? Thanks for your help.

Answer: Ten-year old tree peonies are very difficult to move and will definitely take a set-back. Move it in late September-early October. Choose a new location protected from the worst of the winter winds with good drainage and morning sun and afternoon shade. Almost all tree peonies are budded on herbaceous peony roots. These roots are broad and spreading and probably will not hold a ball of earth, although you can try to hold the ball together by slipping a piece of burlap underneath. So dig broadly and get as much root as possible. Plant the tree peony at the same depth that it grew previously, being very careful not to break off the root mass from the top branches. Amend the soil half and half with Chesapeake Blue. Cover the roots with Myke For Perennials. Press in the soil very firmly around the roots. Stake it and water in well with SeaMate. Apply 2 inches of mulch. Next year apply several applications of Messenger, feed with Bulb-tone, keep lightly moist and remove the flower buds to force strength to the roots. Moved with care, it may take one to three years (usually two), but your tree peony should fully recover.

Question: I have always wanted to have a Trumpet Vine but I really have no place to grow it as a vine. Is there any way the Trumpet Vine can grow as a bush?

Answer: I have seen Trumpet Vine (Campsis) grown in two unusual ways; neither of which was as a vine.

One alternative is to use the Trumpet Vine as a ground cover on a large bank.

I doubt that Trumpet Vine would mature into a satisfactory self supporting shrub over the long term, but I have seen it grown self clinging to a large pole. The particular situation that I recall was on an old telephone pole that stood about 6 foot tall above the ground. The Trumpet Vine never seemed to require pruning, but I cannot be sure the home owner did not give it a winter haircut. It covered the pole with the dense green foliage, the shoots with the flowers protruding like whiskers about 2 feet long. The whole effect was extremely attractive. I believe Trumpet Vine could also be trained similarly on a thinner, taller pole.