Garden Designers Roundtable: Underused Plants
Hey. I’m Leucothoë. Recognize me? Maybe? I know I’ve seen you around, but I’m not sure if you noticed me. Anyway, um… I wanted to… Introduce myself? I’m not so good at these things. But here goes:
Occupation: Shrub (Moonlight as groundcover)
Height and spread: Variable
Color: Depends
Hardiness: Zones 5-9
Status: Evergreen
In search of: Long-term relationship
[Click photos to enlarge]
About me: I’m such an easygoing shrub. So easygoing, as a matter of fact, I’ll even be a groundcover. I’m an evergreen, even in cold places, so you know if you plant me, I’m going stick around, even on those cold days.
I’m not wild about sun—I do love shade—but I’m good with a half day, especially up north, especially in the morning. I’m not picky about soil either (as long as it’s not TOO dry).
In my everyday, I put on a very respectable green. I find I like to wear purple in winter. If it’s a special occasion, I might go with red. From time to time, I think it’s good to cut loose, and you might even see me in rainbow.
Hmm… Hobbies… I guess I’d say my favorite thing to do is to sit on the ol’ stream bank and just watch the world go by. (See? Easygoing.) You might find me just kickin’ it bankside in New York, or Florida, or even up in the mountains in California, but I like garden ponds too, and beaches, as long as I don’t get too much sun. And trees! I like trees too. Don’t even mind the roots. Good place to spread out, under a tree, even if it’s a little dry. When I’m in the garden, I like to hang out with other shrubs, in foundation groups, sometimes formal, sometimes not. Sometimes in perennial borders too, where I’ll even hang around in the wintertime when things are more quiet. I’m pretty at home in any old place.
OK, so I get a little tip burn in when it’s REAL cold out, but who doesn’t? And, OK, maybe I don’t look my best in nursery pots, but they’re small, and I do need my space just a little. Just a little! I’ll be the first to admit, too, that I don’t transplant the best if you dig me up and move me, but still, I have so much to offer to the right person. Things might be a little quiet and awkward at first, but if you give me a chance, you’ll see I am one classy shrub. I just need a little time to get settled in.
What I don’t get is why all the ladies go for the boxwoods, or the hollies, the yews, or all those other evergreens. ‘Cause they make good hedges? I can be a hedge too, but I don’t go in for all that maintenance. Who has time to shear these days? I look best with a five o’clock shadow. Those plants might look more money, but I look more exotic any day of the week. I’m a shrub’s shrub. And hey, if you can’t say my name, no problem. Don’t trouble yourself with the double dots, or the Agarista, or the Eubotrys. You can just call me Lew.
How about a list of Leucothoë you want to add to your garden? →
And be sure to check out posts on other underused plants from my fellow Roundtablers!
Carolyn Gail Choi : Sweet Home and Garden Chicago : Chicago, IL »
Christina Salwitz : Personal Garden Coach : Renton, WA »
Debbie Roberts : A Garden of Possibilities : Stamford, CT
Douglas Owens-Pike : Energyscapes : Minneapolis, MN »
Genevieve Schmidt : North Coast Gardening : Arcata, CA »
Jocelyn Chilvers : The Art Garden : Denver, CO »
Lesley Hegarty & Robert Webber : Hegarty Webber Partnership : Bristol, UK »
Pam Penick : Digging : Austin, TX »
Rebecca Sweet : Gossip In the Garden : Los Altos, CA »
Scott Hokunson : Blue Heron Landscapes : Granby, CT »
Susan Cohan : Miss Rumphius’ Rules : Chatham, NJ »
Tara Dillard : Vanishing Threshold: Garden Life Home : Atlanta, GA »
- Posted by AK on 2010 Jul 27 at 1158
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[...] Andrew Keys : Garden Smackdown : Boston, MA » Carolyn Gail Choi : Sweet Home and Garden Chicago : Chicago, IL » Christina Salwitz : Personal Garden Coach : Renton, WA » Debbie Roberts : A Garden of Possibilities : Stamford, CT Douglas Owens-Pike : Energyscapes : Minneapolis, MN » Genevieve Schmidt : North Coast Gardening : Arcata, CA » Jocelyn Chilvers : The Art Garden : Denver, CO » Lesley Hegarty & Robert Webber : Hegarty Webber Partnership : Bristol, UK » Pam Penick : Digging : Austin, TX » Rebecca Sweet : Gossip In the Garden : Los Altos, CA » Scott Hokunson : Blue Heron Landscapes : Granby, CT » Susan Cohan : Miss Rumphius’ Rules : Chatham, NJ » Tara Dillard : Vanishing Threshold: Garden Life Home : Atlanta, GA » Posted by Scott Filed in Garden Designers Roundtable, Native Plants Tags: #nativeplants, Habitat Gardening 7 Comments » [...]
[...] Keys : Garden Smackdown : Boston, MA Carolyn Gail Choi : Sweet Home and Garden Chicago : Chicago, IL Christina Salwitz : [...]
Andrew, ‘Lew’ is a favorite of mine too. Here in my heavily deer-infested garden. Lew is left alone to do his thing. Gotta love a shady, carefree guy who doesn’t ‘have time to shear’. I loved your very clever post!
When it’s good, it’s very good. When it’s not, it’s dead almost immediately. I keep trying with Lecothoe though because I do like it a lot. Best use so far? Shaded rain garden on the high side. Loved it and it lived!
Debbie: I forgot about that, but I’ve heard and seen evidence of it too! A client whose deer regularly “trim” her yew hedges has a very, very old colony of Leucothoe growing in and around the base of an old tree.
Susan: I have a feeling like most evergreens it needs some water up front to get settled. But hey, at least if it’s dead almost immediately, you know pretty quickly if you need to replace it, right?
Ok, confession time. When I started in the nursery and landscape industry @#$% years ago I did not like Leucothoe, but I loved saying the name. Over the years though I have developed a real fondness for it. Now today I read your post and am wondering, why am I not using this plant more often? I have actually made a mental note to include Leucothoe more in my designs, so thank you for this reminder of a great plant!
P.S. I clicked on Plantmatch.com with great anticipation!
You’re too funny! I think you’ve convinced me that I’d like to at least wink at Leucothoe…
Scott: Hahahahahahaha…. I kind of wondered if those who perhaps had never used match.com would recognize “plantmatch.com,” but I decided to go out on a limb (har har).
When I was growing up, I recognized an INSANELY plain green plant growing in the woods behind my house as Leucothoe, and I didn’t like it at first either. Gradually I began to notice that hey, it was kind of interesting, and then when I moved here and realized how few broadleaf evergreens we can grow, I did a complete 180. It’s hard to beat!
@Michelle: What about RAINBOW Leucothoe? Definitely worth a wink, that one. ;-)
Drat. Andrew, you’ve done it again. There goes my iced coffee, all over my desk, I’m laughing so hard!
Seriously, I’ve been reading all these great GDRT posts about these cool plants and NONE of them are a go for my area. It’s not the cold, it’s the 0% humidity and the 0% organic matter in the soils. Waaaaahhhh! Garden porn. That’s all this is.
@Jocelyn: Oh no! Well, if it’s any consolation, I’m thinking of replacing ALL my non-droughty-type plants with droughties this year, at least where they get sun. We’ve had so little rain and more heat, it’s a sorry scene out in my sun bed, I have to say.
Are you coming to GWA? I’ll buy you an iced coffee. Or an Irish coffee…
Ha! As a Match.com survivor I LOLed all the way through this; so earnest, so thoughtful. Deserves at least a first date, right? I don’t think I’ve ever used Leucothoe. How DO you pronounce the name? Leu-ko-thow? Leu-ko-tow-ee? I better go check Michelle’s pronunciation guide! Thanks for SUCH a fun post…
@Laura: I TOTALLY thought of you when I wrote this. Seriously! Glad you enjoyed it! I like Lew-KO-tho-ee or Lew-KO-thway for pronunciations.
Beautifully written and displaying great plantsmanship. There is no need to say more!
Best Wishes
Robert
@Robert: Thanks SO much! I always appreciate your comments.
I love Leucothe, but alas, it’s just too dry in my California garden for it. My favorite is ‘Rainbow’…I’m a bit envious of your ability to categorize this plant as ‘easygoing’. sigh….climate envy….
Great looking plant–and a nice sales job!
@Pam: Thanks!
@Rebecca: Aha, so that answers our question as to whether Laura could grow it. Even if you planted it in shade, at the start of the rainy season? Although I’m sure if you know of it, you’ve probably tried… I guess the western Leucothoe that grows in the Sierras is probably a better choice, but I’m not sure how often one finds it for sale.
Thanks for a great post, really interesting reading. I was trying to think of something that would require minimal maintenance and cover the ground in fairly dry shade under a tree – seems like I have my answer! Cheers, Lesley
Love this plant and thought my shade was too dry.~I do have ‘Rainbow’ in a container and it survives my zone6-7 winters beautifully. Must rethink my assumptions and plant more! gail, clayandlimestone
Thanks, Lesley and Gail! I’m interested to hear how others find Leucothoe in dry shade, but yep, I’ve definitely seen it successful here. I imagine watering in well and amending the soil in a tree-friendly, non-smothering way with organic matter helps. In the most successful colony I know of under trees, my client lets plenty of leaves build up when they fall every year. I think she’s got the right idea!
Fantastic post, Andrew. I’m always pushing Leucothe to my customers, most of whom are not familiar with it and its many attributes. Love the fact that its also evergreen.
Thanks, Carolyn!
I was just ogling a Leucothoe at a nursery yesterday. My first two growing attempts failed, but I’m ready to try again when fall planting season arrives. There’s one at a botanical garden here that cascades over a low wall, and it’s such a head turner.
5:00 shadow, I like that. I think all plants look better with a 5:00 shadow.
Andrew, this cracks me up. I’ve read it over four times now this week and noticed new details each time. Thanks for bringing such a fun perspective to your rave about Leucothoe. It’s been a favorite of mine for some time.
I do like to use this plant–Agarista populifolia, most often. It’s so perfect in so many tough places and fits well into many of my plans. The deer resistance is really helpful in many neighborhoods.
Haven’t tried ‘Rainbow’ in a long time–it just sat there for years, but I’m inspired to try it again.
@Lynn: Thanks for commenting! I wonder about Rainbow’s vigor, since it’s a variegated plant. I have seen it do amazingly well growing against a stucco wall and a walkway in the heat and humidity of Mississippi. I’m thinking I need to try it again myself after writing this.
@Gen: I am SO flattered you read this multiple times. I could see Leucothoe being very happy in your part of California.
@Megan: I could see it being happy in your climate too! You and me both re: the five o’clock shadow. I was just ogling tropicals on your site this weekend…
I planted two Leucothoes in my yard this year–and one in the neighbors’ to boot!
[...] Andrew Keys : Garden Smackdown : Boston, MA » Carolyn Gail Choi : Sweet Home and Garden Chicago : Chicago, IL » Christina Salwitz : Personal Garden Coach : Renton, WA » Debbie Roberts : A Garden of Possibilities : Stamford, CT Douglas Owens-Pike : Energyscapes : Minneapolis, MN » Genevieve Schmidt : North Coast Gardening : Arcata, CA » Jocelyn Chilvers : The Art Garden : Denver, CO » Lesley Hegarty & Robert Webber : Hegarty Webber Partnership : Bristol, UK » Pam Penick : Digging : Austin, TX » Rebecca Sweet : Gossip In the Garden : Los Altos, CA » Scott Hokunson : Blue Heron Landscapes : Granby, CT » Susan Cohan : Miss Rumphius’ Rules : Chatham, NJ » Tara Dillard : Vanishing Threshold: Garden Life Home : Atlanta, GA » Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)What’s the Fuss Over Focal Points?We Can Hardly Contain Ourselves!Small Spaces, Big Ideas! [...]
@Patricia: Thanks for commenting and confirmation on Leucothoe in Portland!