Say my name
I feel like Leucothoe is the ugly sister of landscape plants because nobody seems to remember its name. Incredibly, this includes experienced foremen who see the evergreen shrubs on their sites all year. As soon as I come to help, they ask me what the shrub is called. Thus the ugly sister label.
Its common name ‘dog hobble’ is so bad, sticking with Leucothoe makes more sense.
And Leucothoe is hardly an ugly plant. It’s a native of the Appalachian mountains where it grows in moist forests. I like that it’s evergreen and forms nice clumps. It’s a shade plant but it can survive in semi-shade. The specimen below is planted, incorrectly, out in the open so no wonder it isn’t forming a full mound.
Details
Leucothoe is best mass-planted in the shade, under your trees. In May it pushes out flowers; and it has great winter interest. Depending on the species or variety, Leucothoe changes color in winter, usually into something maroon.
Occasionally I shear the shrub to keep it off lawn edges but, overall, it’s a low maintenance shrub. It also doesn’t have any serious insect or disease problems. When air circulation is bad around the shrub, it can suffer from leaf spots.
Leucothoe works well as a hedge or a woodland garden shrub. You can also let it naturalize.
Most strata complexes have a few groupings of Leucothoe but people don’t seem to remember its name. Perhaps because it’s a shade plant, usually parked under tree canopies. I feel like people asked me to identify it in the field more than any other plant. When I refer to it as an ugly sister, I do it jokingly. I like the way the shrub cascades and clumps up nicely with its laurel-like glossy evergreen leaves. It totally fits in a moist forest.
So, please say the name Leucothoe and practice it. It sounds better than dog hobble.
