|
|
Article: Elegant Silhouettes for Dappled Shade
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- June 12, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
|
Clethra, fothergilla, hydrangea: Three outstanding flowering
shrubs for dappled shade, they sound as if they were three sisters.
Also known as sweet pepperbush, clethra is an underused and
surprisingly adaptable genus comprised of some 30 species of shrubs
and small trees native to the American continent and East Asia.
The most useful is a summer-flowering shrub, Clethra
alnifolia, or summersweet. It can take full sun or partial shade,
lives with moist conditions as well as dry and in acid as well as
slightly alkaline soil. Even more remarkable is the flowering
display. Two widely available improved cultivars -- Hummingbird and
Pink Spire -- bud in July and bloom through August when ...