April 2008
Winter Garden Beauties
Leonard J. Buck Garden, Far Hills, NJ
The landscape may be quiet and cold and our memories of spring blossoms and fall foliage may have faded, but there are some plants that shine during these cold blustery months. For us living in the northeast the winter season can stretch out for three to four months or more, resulting in drab, lifeless gardens.
However, with a careful selection of plants the winter garden can be a place of wonder. Visit the Leonard J. Buck Garden and enjoy the special fragrances, colors and textures of this often overlooked season.
Winter interest comes from some of our all time favorite garden plants like winter flowering jasmine, the fragrant flowers of witch-hazel, the persistent red fruit of the deciduous holly, and the curling and peeling bark of the paperbark maple and river birch. Winter interest also relies heavily on the color and texture of evergreens, the graceful beauty of our native Canadian hemlock, the handsome dark evergreen leaves of the Catawba rhododendron, but what about shrubs with winter interest? Have you ever thought about the genus Leucothoe?
When one heads down the Service Trail at Buck Garden you are greeted by Leucothoes. This graceful evergreen shrub with cascading arms welcoms you right into the garden. Few shrubs can match this unusual genus. Its weeping form and fragrant early, summer flowers make it a year-round garden gem (the flower’s scent may not appeal to everyone).
Leucothoe includes approximately 50 species. The cultivated ones hail from the East and West coasts of the United States. Most have shiny, leathery, evergreen foliage and bear urn-shaped white or pinkish flowers that droop from the leaf axils. The foliage and flowers resemble those of andromeda (Pieris ssp.), which is a fellow member of the heath family (Ericaceae).
Leucothoe’s common names, fetterbush and dog-hobble, refer to the plants’ talent to form large, dense thickets that are known to entangle hunting dogs.
Leucothoes are natural-born stabilizers and are most effective when planted en masse or groupings. They make good shrub borders, are beautiful around foundations, and create a nice cover for a shady bank. Leucothoes make good companions with many other lovers of moist, acidic woodland soils such as Lindera benzoin, spicebush and Fothergilla ssp., witch-alder, and they contrast nicely with dull rhododendron foliage.
Cultivars planted in Buck garden include: Leucothoe axillaries which grows 2 to 4’ high (6’) and 1½ times that in width with spreading branches. It produces white flowers in May and its glossy, dark green leaves turn purplish bronze in winter. Leucothoe fontanesiana ‘Girard’s Rainbow’ grows 3 to 6’ by 3 to 6’ and has striking new growth emerging in combinations of white, pink, or copper. Leucothoe fontanesiana ‘Lovita’ has a mounded compact habit growing 2’ by 4’, and produces deep bronze foliage in winter. Leucothoe fontanesiana ‘Rollisoni’ is the most commonly grown species in this underused genus. It is relatively compact growing 3’ by 6’ with smaller leaves, 2 to 4” long by ½ to ¾” wide.
Leucothoe will not withstand drought and is prone to desiccation in very sunny or wind-blown sites. Fungal leaf spot diseases and mildew can be troublesome on stressed-out plants. Removing older canes will dramatically reduce fungal problems and will also rejuvenate the plant. Give them good air circulation and remember they prefer acid, moist, well-drained, organic soil and should be planted in partial to full shade.
Leucothoe is reported to have good deer resistance.
Experience these and other winter pleasures in Somerset County Park Commission’s Leonard J. Buck Garden
- Tricia Scibilia, interpretive gardener
**All photos by Tricia Scibilia unless credited otherwise
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