{"id":1514,"date":"2023-06-19T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gardenershq.com\/inthegarden\/?p=1514"},"modified":"2023-09-04T03:18:28","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T03:18:28","slug":"doghobble-leucothoe-fontanesiana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gardenershq.com\/inthegarden\/doghobble-leucothoe-fontanesiana\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Grow Doghobble (Leucothoe fontanesiana) In Your Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Leucothoe fontanesiana<\/em>, also kown as Drooping Leucothoe or Mountain Doghobble, is an evergreen shrub. It is appreciated for its arching branches with glossy, dark green leaves. These exhibit a purple-bronze hue in winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typically, it grows to a height and spread of 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m). Gardeners like this plant as it has an elegant form, a ability to thrive in shade, and can be used in borders, hedges, and as a groundcover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leucothoe
Leucothoe fontanesiana<\/em> cv. 'Rainbow' photograph by SuperFantastic<\/a>; CC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It performs best in USDA hardiness zones 5 to 8 (RHS H6) .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Grow Leucothoe fontanesiana in the Garden<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Leucothoe fontanesiana<\/em> prefers a location with part to full shade and a well-drained, moist, acidic soil. this should be rich in organic matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant it from rootballs in spring or early fall. Dig the hole to the same depth as the root ball. Backfill with soil once planted, and then water thoroughly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it's somewhat drought-tolerant once established, Highland Doghobble appreciatea regular watering, particularly in dry periods. Applying an acidic, slow-release fertilizer in early spring will promote vigorous growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pruning is generally not necessary, but if shaping is desired, then prune lightly after flowering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pests can include scale and leaf spots. Ensure good air circulation and avoid wetting the foliage when watering to reduce the risk of disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Doghobble
Doghobble flowers image by Buddha Dog<\/a>; CC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Leucothoe fontanesiana<\/em> is a distinctive and graceful choice for your garden. It provides year-round interest, and creates a lush, dark backdrop against which other plants can shine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Quick Leucothoe fontanesiana Growing and Care Guide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Scientific Name<\/span>: Leucothoe fontanesiana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common Name(s)<\/span>: Drooping Leucothoe, Fetterbush, Drooping Laurel, Highland Doghobble, Fetter-bush, Mountain doghobble, Switch ivy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing Zone (USA \/ UK Hardiness)<\/span>: USDA Zones: 5-8. Hardiness H6, hardy throughout northern Europe,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Used For \/ Garden Location<\/span>: Shady woodland gardens, shrub borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant Details<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Life Cycle \/ Plant Type<\/span>: Evergreen shrub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant Height<\/span>: 3-5 ft (0.9-1.5 m).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant Spread<\/span>: 3-5 ft (0.9-1.5 m).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blooms<\/span>: Late spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flower Details<\/span>: Small, white to pale pink, bell-shaped flowers in drooping clusters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaf Foliage<\/span>: Glossy, dark green, lance-shaped leaves that turn purplish-bronze in winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fruit<\/span>: Small, dry seed capsules, not ornamentally significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing Conditions and Location<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Best Light Conditions<\/span>: Part shade to full shade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suitable Soil Types<\/span>: Moist, well-drained, acidic soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sowing, planting<\/span>: Plant container-grown shrubs in spring or fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germination time<\/span>: Not typically grown from seed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Propagation<\/span>: Semi-hardwood cuttings in summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant Care<\/span>: Maintain moist soil; mulch to conserve moisture and protect in winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing in pots and containers<\/span>: Possible, but prefers being planted in the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing as a House plant<\/span>: Not suitable for indoor cultivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further Information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Miscellaneous<\/span>: Resistant to deer; attracts bees and butterflies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pests and diseases<\/span>: May be susceptible to leaf spots and fungal diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common Cultivars \/ Varieties<\/span>: Leucothoe fontanesiana 'Rainbow' has variegated foliage; 'Girard's Rainbow' is compact with multicolored foliage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family<\/span>: Ericaceae, the Heath family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Native<\/span>: Southeastern United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References and Further Reading<\/span>: RHS: Leucothoe<\/em>\u00a0fontanesiana<\/em>\u00a0'Trivar'<\/a>; Missouri Botanical Garden: Drooping Laurel<\/a>; Cornell Woody Plants Database<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Common Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Does Leucothoe fontanesiana make a good garden or landscaping plant?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yes, Leucothoe fontanesiana<\/em>, commonly known as Drooping Leucothoe or Highland Dog Hobble, is an excellent choice for gardens and landscapes. It's an hardy evergreen shrub with attractive arching branches. It can be a great option for a woodland garden or in use as a ground cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Leucothoe fontanesiana a fragrant plant?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Leucothoe fontanesiana<\/em> produces fragrant white bell-shaped flowers in spring. These have a sweet, attractive aroma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the perfect location to grow Leucothoe fontanesiana?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Highland Dog Hobble prefers shade to partial shade and acidic, moist, well-drained soil. It's a perfect plant for a woodland garden or shady area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Leucothoe fontanesiana invasive in the USA, if so in which states?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Currently, this Leucothoe plant is not considered invasive in the USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do I remove Leucothoe fontanesiana from my garden?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To remove Leucothoe fontanesiana<\/em>, initially cut back the shrub, then carefully dig out as much of the root system as possible. Monitor the area for regrowth. Remove any new sprouts that appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Leucothoe fontanesiana<\/em> is an evergreen shrub that thrives in acidic, well-drained soil and partial to full shade. Its glossy, dark-green leaves and spring flowers make it an attractive ground cover or border plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this guide on how to grow\u00a0Leucothoe fontanesiana<\/em>. You may also enjoy the following heather growing guides: How to grow Pieris japonica<\/a>, Gaultheria Procumbens<\/a>, and How to Grow Arctostaphylos uva-ursi<\/a> plants in the garden.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leucothoe fontanesiana, also kown as Drooping Leucothoe or Mountain Doghobble, is an evergreen shrub. It is appreciated for its arching branches with glossy, dark green leaves. These exhibit a purple-bronze hue in winter. Typically, it grows to a height and spread of 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m). Gardeners like this plant as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,33,11,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-attractive-foliage","category-container-plant","category-growing-guides","category-shade-plants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gardenershq.com\/inthegarden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gardenershq.com\/inthegarden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gardenershq.com\/inthegarden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gardenershq.com\/inthegarden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gardenershq.com\/inthegarden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1514"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.gardenershq.com\/inthegarden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1905,"href":"https:\/\/www.gardenershq.com\/inthegarden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1514\/revisions\/1905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gardenershq.com\/inthegarden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gardenershq.com\/inthegarden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gardenershq.com\/inthegarden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gardenershq.com\/inthegarden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}