Common Name: Drooping leucothoe, Fetterbush
Family: Ericaceae
EVERGREEN
Photo: Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT
Plant is Native to: mountainous regions of southeastern U.S. Hardy in zones 4 to 6.
Plant Height at Maturity: 3 to 6 feet high and wide.
Plant Habit and Form: Broadleaf evergreen shrub; tends to sucker, colonize. Stout stems from base, limited lateral branches. Has graceful, arching stems.
Foliage: Dark shiny green mature foliage; leathery. Emerging shoots are bronze or reddish. 2 to 5" long. Leaves turn red in fall. Leaves are sharp pointed, with fine widely spaced serrations. Burgandy purple leaf color in fall with sufficient sun exposure.
Photos: Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT
Bark: Stems are a mix of green and red; glabrous and shiny.
Photo: Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT
Flower: Small white urn-shaped flowers, about 1/3" long, born on racemes that are up to 2-3" long. Borne in leaf axil. Fragrant and showy, but somewhat hidden by foliage. Flower in May.
Photo: Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT
Growing Requirements: Prefers moist, cool, shady location with acid soil. Protect from winter wind. Can rejuvenate old plants by pruning to ground in spring.
Problems and Drawbacks: Subject to leaf spot if air circulation is poor; winter dessication if in exposed site.
Special Uses: Great as an understory shrub, and does well in moist areas. Good in a mixed border with other ericaceous plants.
ID Tips/Remarks: Red-green stems with little lateral branching. Colonizing habit. Evergreen leaves with long sharp point and fine serrations on leaf margin. White urn-shaped flowers on racemes in leaf axil.
Bibliography:
Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, 1998 Stipes Publishing, Champaigne, IL
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/l/leufon/leufon1.html
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