Dwarf Summersweet '16 Candles'
Clethra alnifolia '16 Candles'
A compact summersweet sized for containers and tight borders, with oversized white candles in July and that signature sweet-spicy scent.
Typically 1 quart–3 gal · $17–$85 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
All the fragrance and pollinator value of summersweet in a compact form that works in containers, tight borders, and small-space gardens.
'16 Candles' is a compact summersweet perfectly scaled for smaller gardens, containers, and tight border spots where the straight species would crowd everything else out. It blooms in July with upright white flower spikes, the 'candles', that are proportionally larger compared to the plant's small size than on any other cultivar. The fragrance is exactly what you expect from summersweet: sweet, spicy, warm. Bumblebees and native bees visit constantly through the entire bloom period, and the plant handles moist to wet acidic soils that challenge most compact ornamentals. Yellow fall color wraps up the season cleanly. A refined, low-maintenance plant that asks very little and delivers consistently year after year.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown dwarf summersweet '16 candles' propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 2–3 ft · 24–36 in wide
- Bloom time
- Midsummer
- Bloom color
- White
- USDA zones
- 3–9
- Family
- Clethraceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America
Care notes for dwarf summersweet '16 candles'.
Full sun to part shade in moist, acidic soil. Excellent for containers if kept consistently moist. Prune in late winter. blooms on new wood. Spreads slowly by root suckers but much less aggressively than the straight species. Very cold-hardy; consistent performer in zones 3–9.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside dwarf summersweet '16 candles'.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
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Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.