Sure to delight the senses in more ways than one, 'Sherry Sue' Summersweet is a super-hardy, adaptable, and very easy-to-grow North American native flowering shrub anyone in USDA Zones 4a to 9b can grow. As with other Clethra alnifolia cultivars, she produces abundant spires of fragrant white flowers that smell like cotton candy, hence "Summersweet" in the common name, but Sherry Sue's flower spires form atop pinkish-red stems that contrast beautifully with the pure-white flowers and her dark green glossy foliage. The flowers are irresistible to hummingbirds, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinators. The color show continues in the fall when her foliage turns to variable shades of golden yellow. Highly adaptable, Sherry Sue will thrive in full sun or mostly shade and most any consistently moist to wet soil, making her a perfect choice for planting in those areas of the landscape where the soil never completely dries out. A multi-season shrub you will not regret planting, and the hummingbirds and butterflies will thank you for it!

Clethra alnifolia 'Sherry Sue' was introduced by the JC Raulston Arboretum in North Carolina.  

Suggested Spacing:  4 feet apart for solid hedges;  8 feet or more apart for space between plants

Sherry Sue Summersweet Clethra is easy to grow in most any consistently moist to wet soil in sun or shade. Exceptionally low maintenance requiring no pruning. In boggy soils it will spread by stolons to form a colony. Free of any pest and disease problems!