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, Sep 248 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Sep 258 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Sep 268 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'.
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