| |
|
|
|
|
Member Pages |
Sweet pepperbush (or summersweet) is a spreading deciduous shrub that gets 4-8 ft (1.2-2.4 m) tall and blooms in summer with showy upright clusters of little white flowers. The flowers have five petals and are about a third of an inch across, borne in dense racemes at the ends of the twigs. They have a wonderful sweet, spicy, slightly pungent fragrance. The leaves are alternate, 2-3 in (5-7.6 cm) long and serrated towards their tips. They turn golden yellow in fall. In nature, sweet pepperbush usually grows in shrubby thickets along with wild azaleas (Rhododendron canescens) and blueberries (Vaccinium ashei), and it rarely gets more than 4 ft (1.2 m) tall. At least a dozen selections have been named, including 'Hummingbird', which is compact and gets only 2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) tall; and 'Pink Spires' with rosy pink flowers.
Location
Culture
Sweet pepperbush is an outstanding shrub for a naturalized garden. It will gradually spread by sending up new shoots, forming a thicket of low bushes. Allow pepperbush to naturalize along a stream or pond where its suckering will help control erosion. Its fragrant snowy white flowers attract bees and butterflies, and the flowers last for 6 weeks or more in the heat of summer when most flowering shrubs are taking a break. Use sweet pepperbush in a mixed shrub hedge or border. Pepperbush can be pruned to maintain a small size, or allowed to grow naturally - it will probably never exceed 6 ft (1.8 m) in height anyway. Sweet pepperbush has a wonderful fragrance, showy flowers, attracts butterflies, grows in the shade, blooms in mid summer, has nice fall color, stays small - in short, sweet pepperbush is one of the finest deciduous shrubs in cultivation.
Features Steve Christman 4/3/02; updated 8/11/03
|
NEW at Floridata
Plant Profiles:
|
||||||||||||||||||
Get link
