Lucky Leu Leucothoe Is a Colorful, Adaptable Native Evergreen Shrub
A year-round garden plant
Lucky Leu leucothoe is a new cultivar of a southeastern US–native broadleaf evergreen shrub. It carries its lance-shaped evergreen leaves on arching stems. New foliage emerges with a peachy orange color and matures to rich green. Small white flowers are a bonus in spring, making Lucky Leu leuocothoe a true four-season plant.
Common name: Lucky Leu leucothoe, Lucky Leu doghobble
Botanical name: Leucothoe axillaris ‘Bailcothoe’
Exposure: Full sun to part shade (see more in "How to grow it," below)
Flowers: In spring, down-hanging clusters of bell-shaped white flowers emerge from where the leaves meet the stems. Leucothoe flowers resemble those of heathers (Erica) and Japanese Andromeda (Pieris japonica), which belong to the same family.
Foliage: Evergreen leaves are long and slender in shape, with a glossy green color at maturity. When newly emerged in spring, the leaves of cultivar Lucky Leu show vivid salmon tones.
Size and habit: Lucky Leu has a fountain-like shape and grows three to five feet tall and wide.
Origin: The species Leucothoe axillaris occurs naturally along the US coastal plain from southern Virginia to northern Florida. It grows in damp woods. The cultivar Lucky Leu was introduced by First Editions Shrubs & Trees in 2024.
How to grow it: When siting Lucky Leu leucothoe, keep in mind the natural habitat that its species enjoys: damp woods of the Southeast. It follows that this relative of blueberries and azaleas prefers acidic soil, part shade and even moisture. That said, leucothoes can tolerate full sun if they are kept watered. Lucky Leu has a naturally compact size and interesting architecture, but should pruning become necessary do it after the spring flowering. USDA Zones 6–9.
Image courtesy of First Editions Shrubs & Trees
