Clethora alnifolia (Ruby Spice)
Of the Flowering Plants family - Clethraceae
Native Habitat: Native of eastern North America from southern Nova Scotia and Maine south to northern Florida, and west to eastern Texas.
Leaves: Deciduous, serrate, obovate, dark green leaves, 4” long and turn a variable yellow/golden brown in fall.
Size: 4 to 6’ in North America.
Bark & Flowers: Cylindrical, bottlebrush-like, terminal panicles of extremely fragrant rose pink flowers that bloom in July and August.
Preferred Soils: Maximal growing potential in moist, deep, well-drained soil and medium to wet soils in full sun and partial shade. Tolerates clay soils.
Design Value: Great use as a border plant or massing shrub to create formal edges or boundaries in landscape designs. Also provides a transitory or perpetual vegetative edge in planting schemes. Also an appropriate plant for wetlands and remediative landscapes. Wetland and riparian species are essential to healthy ecosystems because they are able to absorb the force of strong winds, fluctuating water levels, abating flood peaks, and preventing shoreline erosion, wetlands, and the plants growing in them, protect terrestrial areas from storm and flood damage. The plants in wetlands help to filter chemical and particulate pollutants, and trap sediment in the water table.
Hardiness Zone(s): 4 to 8.
(Source: Dirr, Manual of Woody Plants on Reserve, in Del Tredeci, Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast, A Field Guide on Reserve)