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Clethra 'Sixteen Candles'
Sixteen Candles' Clethra, 'Sixteen Candles' Summersweet

Sixteen Candles’ Clethra is a more compact cultivar of Clethra alnifolia, a wet-tolerant and beautiful coastal shrub all along the eastern seaboard and southern coastal states. Like the species, ‘Sixteen Candles’ is long-blooming, having sweet-fragrant flowers in the heat of the summer against a rich, medium-to-dark green foliage. But the plant is much more compact (2-3 feet x 2-3 feet) than the species and the flowers as upright as the cultivar name implies. These flowers attract many kinds of bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and the dry peppercorn-like seeds attract birds in winter. Ideal light conditions include dappled sun or morning sun and afternoon shade, but it can tolerate full sun with sufficient moisture, and full shade (with fewer flowers) as well. Fall coloration is a generally attractive gold and mottled honey brown. Ideal soil conditions are moist, well drained, acidic, organically amended soil, but it is not really fussy. Well established plants can tolerate short drought periods. If pruning is desired, the best time would be late winter since flowers occur on new growth. ‘Sixteen Candles’ is not burdened with insect/disease problems and is reported to be deer resistant. It performs well in a shrub/perennial border or woodland garden, and being rhizomatous and tolerant of soggy soils, it would be a fitting choice for stream bank stabilization, rain gardens, or pond-side natural areas. ‘Sixteen Candles’ (and ‘Ruby Spice’) have garnered the RHS Award of Garden Merit. The USDA plant distribution map linked below is for the species.

Last Updated: May 21, 2019

Key Info

Scientific Name: Clethra alnifolia L. cv. 'Sixteen Candles'
Common Names: Sixteen Candles' Clethra, 'Sixteen Candles' Summersweet
Family Name: Clethraceae (White Alder Family)
Plant Type: Tree / Shrub
Uses: Rain Garden, Shrub Border, Woodland Garden, Naturalizing, Hedge, Pond edge, Butterfly garden, Streamside, Wetland enhancement
Light Requirement: Full sun, Full shade-bright, Partial/sunny, Partial/shady
Moisture Requirement: Wet, Medium, Moist well drained
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Bloom Times: Jul, Aug
Flower Color: White
Special Characteristics: Attracts bees, Attracts butterflies, Attracts Hummingbirds, Good fall color, Shade tolerant, Attracts birds, Tolerates wet conditions, Rhizomatous, Flowers fragrant, Good for hedges, Tolerates salt spray, Reported to be deer resistant.

Additional Info

Habit: Densely branched, upright, rhizomatous shrub with medium texture.
Height: 2'-3'
Spread: 2-3'
Growth Rate: Moderate
Soil Conditions: Thrives in moist, sandy, slightly acid soils but tolerates clay and standing water as well.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, sharply serrated, obovate with pointed tip, 3-4" long with light pubescence beneath. Late to leaf out in the spring. Medium texture. Fall color is strong yellow to golden brown.
Flowers (or reproductive structures): Upright, 4", terminal, usually solitary spikes of small, bright white, perfect, fragrant flowers. Flowers open from the base upward.
Fruit: Capsules, about 1/8 inch, ripen in fall and persist into winter.
Natural Distribution: 'Sixteen Candles' is a selection of the cultivar 'Humingbird'. There is no natural distribution for 'Sixteen Candles'.
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 to 8
USDA Wetland Indicator Status in NC: see C. alnifolia
Pollination: Bees and other insects; hummingbirds.
Wildlife Connections: Reported to be deer resistant; attracts large numbers of native bees, bumble bees, and honey bees, butterflies, also attracts hummingbirds; good cover for small animals in natural settings.
Downside: Free of insect and disease problems. The suckering nature of this species might be considered a liability if a neat, single specimen plant is desired. The suckering can be controlled, or the plant sited in a hedge, or a more natural area where it has room to spread.
Propagation: 'Sixteen Candles' is propagated by cuttings.
USDA/NRCS Plant Distribution Map: View Map at USDA.gov

Availability

This plant is not currently available.

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Cure Nursery is a small nursery propagating and selling native plants for the Southeastern U.S. We are located near the town of Pittsboro, Chatham County, in central NC.

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