shrub
Summersweet 'Hummingbird'
Clethra alnifolia 'Hummingbird'
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Summersweet 'Hummingbird' is a deciduous shrub hardy in zones 4–9. It grows 3–4 ft tall and 3–5 ft wide, so plant it 3.5 ft apart. Give it full sun to shade and average water, and it copes with wet soil. It flowers white in July to August. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the structure role: a shrub that holds the bed's shape at the back all year. It is native to the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, the Southeast and Florida and the Gulf. Deer may browse it when other food is short, and it is not listed as toxic to dogs or cats. Our rules leave it out of lists in the Desert Southwest, where summer heat, humidity or mild winters hold it back even inside its zone range.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Clethra alnifolia 'Hummingbird'
- Plant type
- Shrub, deciduous
- Hardiness zones
- 4 to 9
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hours); Part sun (4–6 hours); Part shade (2–4 hours); Shade (under 2 hours)
- Water
- Medium; tolerates wet soil
- Soil
- Thrives in moist, acidic soil; tolerates wet spots.
- Mature size
- 3–4 ft tall × 3–5 ft wide
- Spacing
- 3.5 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Bloom
- Jul–Aug · white
- Roles in a bed
- Structure
- Styles
- natural, cottage
- Deer resistance
- Medium: browsed when deer are hungry
- Pets
- Not listed as toxic to dogs or cats. Not on the ASPCA toxic list; no known toxic compounds.
- Native to
- Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Florida/Gulf
- Pot size and price
- 3-gallon pot, typically $30–$45 (sometimes stocked)
- Plant in
- Spring or Fall
- First-year watering
- Water deeply once or twice a week through the first summer, more in heat waves, so the root ball never dries out.
- Pruning
- Leafs out late; prune in early spring once buds show.
Sources: Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder; ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list; Rutgers NJAES deer resistance ratings (A-D); state noxious weed lists / Invasive Plant Atlas of the US; typical 2026 US garden-centre and big-box listings. Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Guides that include this plant
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 8 (as a substitute)
- What to plant in a part-shade bed in zone 4 (as a substitute)
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Summersweet 'Hummingbird', across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- FoamflowerTiarella cordifoliaperennial · zones 3–8
- Christmas fernPolystichum acrostichoidesfern · zones 3–9
- Pennsylvania sedgeCarex pensylvanicaornamental grass · zones 3–8
- White wood asterEurybia divaricataperennial · zones 3–8
- Japanese sedge 'Evergold'Carex oshimensis 'Evergold'ornamental grass · zones 5–9
- Virginia sweetspire 'Little Henry'Itea virginica 'Sprich'shrub · zones 5–9
If you can't find it
Substitutes our engine offers for Summersweet 'Hummingbird': same role in the bed, passing the same rules. Some of them are flagged toxic to dogs or cats: check the pet note before you swap.
- Virginia sweetspire 'Little Henry'Itea virginica 'Sprich'zones 5–9 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Bush honeysuckle 'Kodiak Orange'Diervilla 'G2X88544'zones 3–7 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Northern bush honeysuckleDiervilla lonicerazones 3–7 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Black chokeberry 'Iroquois Beauty'Aronia melanocarpa 'Morton'zones 3–8 · flagged toxic to pets
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants