Leucothoe axillaris 'CURLY RED'^®

Leucothoe belongs to relatively new plants which gain more and more attention and admirers. They are low or prostrate evergreen shrubs with leathery leaves and sufficient hardiness.

Curly Red^® variety comes from Dutch town Boskoop where it was found as a naturally occurring mutation among plants of another variety named SCARLETTA^®. It was fits introduced in 2003 and received the award of “most striking plant novelty” at the Aalsmeer flower market in November 2004.

Curly Red^® grows slowly into a compact, low plant of rounded shape. Its main feature are gracefully curled, very glossy leaves. Their colour is light green as they emerge, maturing to deep green. In autumn they change to deep purple-red at the leaf margins and overall deep burgundy red from winter until mid-spring. If planted in full sun it gains red shades from mid-summer already.

Leucothoes grow naturally in woodlands under trees which means that they are used to anything from filtered sun to deep shade. However, in our tests they proved to live happily in full sun, too, if given sufficient moisture. Only in case of long-lasting, harsh frosts without snow we recommend protecting them with greens or white woven to keep the top leaves from sunburn.

As an ericaceous plant it requires soil that is light, acidic, and constantly moist (not wet). If your garden soil is too heavy do not dig a deep hole but make a shallow and wide bed topped up with a good mixture of peat, fine bark chips, and leaf (forest) litter. Keep the soil moist by mulching. Slow-release fertilizers are advised. No pruning needed. Hardy to about -22°C (USDA zone 6b).

Last update 18-11-2008