How to Trim Clethra Alnifolia

Clethra alnifolia, or summersweet, is a medium-sized shrub that produces white and pink flowers. Achieving heights of 6 feet, it grows slowly in an upright direction. Summersweet thrives in locations with some sun and some shade, and adapts well to a variety of soil types and growing conditions. Butterflies and bees are attracted to the fragrant blooms that emerge for four to six weeks in mid-summer. Prune summersweet in the late winter or early spring, before growth begins.

Pruning shears or loppers

Instructions

- 1
  Cut off old, damaged wood. Target stems that are damaged over the winter. Trim back stems that become leggy with age. Flowers are produced on new wood each season, so there is no danger of cutting off branches that will become flower-laden.
- 2
  Thin out summersweet to create a more open plant with productive growth. Prune branches and twigs at their point of origin or at the spot where they meet another branch. Remove the oldest and tallest branches first. Limit the number of side shoots, creating fewer twigs overall. This won't change the shape or overall size of the summersweet, but it will improve its health.
- 3
  Rejuvenate old, overgrown summersweet. Using a method called gradual renewal, cut off one-third of the tallest and oldest branches at or just above ground level. Do this once a year. If the shrub loses symmetry, thin out some of the branches by shortening them.
- 4
  Avoid topping the shrub. Cutting branches off halfway up will ruin the shape of the summersweet and create sparse flowering. Instead, target individual branches.

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