Summersweet Clethra

 

The Sweet Smell of Summer

 

Oh, how the gardens are alive with butterflies this time of year!  Finally, in the past two weeks, we are seeing so many fluttering around the nursery searching for nectar.  And lucky for us, it’s a living lab.  We get to watch and see which plant the butterflies love the most.  Butterfly plants are the most commonly requested at the nursery.  And I hear so many people say the same thing…I get hoards of butterflies on my Butterfly Bush.  Butterfly Bush is not native, although many people think it is because it has escaped cultivation and become naturalized.  It is not on the invasive list in PA, but it might be soon.

 

Summersweet Clethra 'Ruby Spice'



There is a great native shrub that is the perfect substitute to Butterfly Bush.  It goes by the name Summersweet Clethra, or Clethra alnifolia.  It has a similarly shaped flower, but more cylindrical than pyramidical.  The straight species is white, but one of our favorite cultivars is ‘Ruby Spice’.  The best part is the scent…they don’t call it Summersweet for nothing!  You can smell a large Summersweet shrub before you see it.  And ‘Ruby Spice’ blossoms have such a gorgeous color gradient, rose to light pink to white.  It grows best in moist conditions but it will tolerate drier conditions once established.  It prefers full sun to part shade and in comparison to Butterfly Bush, it is much more rounded and full all the way to the ground and topping out at 5-8’.  It is attractive in fall with its yellow fall foliage.  Once you get a whiff of it in bloom, you’ll wish you were a butterfly so you could drink its sweet nectar!   

Japanese Barberry and Lyme Disease

Japanese Barberry 'Atropurpurea'

 

               One thing that most native plant enthusiasts know is that native plants facilitate and support insect lifecycles, which is essential for maintaining healthy wildlife populations.  But what about discouraging unwanted insect populations?  For instance, the recent findings that Japanese Barberry is a significant factor in increased deer tick populations, with a strong scientific correlation between Lyme Disease occurrence and Japanese Barberry population. 

Japanese Barberry leaves, thorns, and berries

 

                Drive through any neighborhood and you’ll see this purple shrub, with small leaves and thorns, planted in yards as landscape shrubs.  The particular variety that I see most is called ‘Crimson Pygmy’, or Berberis thunbergii var. atropurpurea ‘Crimson Pygmy’.  Talk about big name for a small plant.  The Japanese Barberry species is wreaking havoc on our health in more ways than one.  Sure it has escaped into natural areas, displaced native plants, and taken over to the point that it is a classified invasive.  But more than that, the humid underside of tiny rounded barberry leaves make this the perfect place for the deer tick to breed prolifically.   White Footed Mice, one of the deer tick carriers, also love the protection that Barberry thorns provide.  Pair this with the characteristics of invasive plants and it’s a recipe for disaster in terms of public health.

 

Ninebark 'Diablo'

                So why is this plant so popular anyways?  I think it’s the color and the hardiness.  This particular variety has a reddish purple leaf.  If there were one invasive plant to get rid of in your landscape, it’s this one.  If you like the color of ‘Crimson Pygmy’, try our native Ninebark in ‘Coppertina’, ‘Summer Wine’, or 'Diablo'.   You can still get that purple color in a native shrub without creating deer tick habitat.  In fact, you'll be creating habitat for beneficial insects.  Spread the word to your neighbors and friends who might have Barberry in their landscape. 

 

Click here for more information on Barberry and Lyme Disease