Burning Love Leucothoe

Burning Love leucothoe (Leucothoe 'Burning Love') is a low arching shrub grown for foliage that changes with the season. It reaches about 60cm tall and 90cm wide, wider than it is high, with glossy pointed leaves that deepen to burgundy red as the weather turns cold and lighten again through spring. Small white bell flowers follow in the warmer months. Planted 60cm apart it makes a dense, weed suppressing mass.

Why you'll love it

• Colour that arrives when the garden needs it. The foliage turns burgundy red in cold weather, so the display peaks in the months when most shrubs have nothing to offer.
• A spreading, layered habit. The arching stems knit together horizontally, filling a bed faster than an upright shrub of the same height.
• It handles damp shade. Frost hardy, humidity tolerant and comfortable with wet feet, which covers the shaded low lying beds that defeat most colour shrubs.
• Very little work. No shaping, no staking, no annual shear. Cutting a few old stems out at the base every second year keeps it fresh.

Where it works best

Mass planting. Plant 60cm apart for a dense mass. At that spacing the arching stems overlap within two seasons and hold the soil on a shaded slope or bank.

Borders and edging. The low spreading shape suits the front of a shaded bed or a path edge, where it softens the line without needing to be clipped square.

Pots and small gardens. A single plant fills a 400mm pot on a shaded courtyard, and the seasonal colour change gives a small garden something that moves.

Growing Burning Love leucothoe in Australia

Position and climate. Part shade is ideal, with morning sun and shelter from harsh afternoon sun. It suits cool temperate and warm temperate gardens and is frost hardy, so cold southern winters are where it colours best. It is not a plant for tropical or arid gardens.

Soil. Acidic, moisture retentive and rich in organic matter, prepared the way an azalea or camellia bed is. Work compost through before planting and mulch 75mm deep, clear of the stems.

Water and feed. It likes consistent moisture and tolerates damp ground, so it is one of the few colour shrubs for a bed that drains slowly. Feed with a fertiliser formulated for acid loving plants in early spring.

Pruning. Leave the natural arching shape alone. Every second year cut two or three of the oldest stems out at ground level, which pushes fresh growth with the strongest colour.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in two sizes: 140mm pots in packs of ten and 200mm pots in packs of six. The 140mm plants are the value choice for a large mass planting and take a season longer to close over. The 200mm plants carry several stems and read as a proper shrub straight away.

Colour on arrival depends on the season: foliage runs green through the warm months and reddens with the cold, so a green plant in summer is behaving normally. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse plants with autumn colour
• Compare plants for partial shade
• Low growing plant ideas for borders
• Plants that change colour through the year

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

Sixty centimetres apart, roughly three plants per square metre. The stems arch outwards, so wider spacing leaves gaps for longer than you want.

Is it safe for pets?

No. Leucothoe belongs to the same family as pieris and azalea and is considered toxic to cats and dogs, so we do not list it as pet friendly. Keep it away from animals that chew foliage.

Why is my plant green rather than red?

The burgundy tones develop in cold weather and fade as it warms. A plant in a mild subtropical garden, or one in deep shade, will hold more green through the year.