Sixteen Candles Summersweet

The Sixteen Candles Summersweet is a compact deciduous bush with glossy green leaves, that grows around 3 feet tall and wide. In late summer and into fall it carries many 6-inch upright flower spikes, smothered in pure-white blossoms. Blooming for weeks, it really brightens the garden in those late-summer months, so plant it in your beds, along a path, by a stream or pond, or beneath trees. The clusters of seed pods are an interesting winter feature, and the fall leaves are glowing yellow.

• Tall 6-inch candles of white blooms
• Blooms for weeks from late July on
• Neat, rounded, compact shrub
• Grows well in damp soils
• Native shrub for natural gardening

The Sixteen Candles Summersweet can be grown from zone 3 into zone 9, in full sun, partial shade or light full shade. Plant it in any moist soil, including wet soils. It grows in all types of soil, preferring sands, but growing in clay too, and even in compacted urban soils. Avoid very dry areas and very alkaline soils. Pests or diseases are normally no problem, and deer usually leave it alone. Trim, if needed, in late winter or early spring, but avoid cutting new shoots once they sprout, as this will prevent flowering.