Twisting Red Leucothoe

Twisting Red Leucothoe (Leucothoe 'Twisting Red') is a small evergreen shrub grown for foliage that changes with the seasons. It makes a neat mound around 900mm high and wide, with narrow leaves that curl along arching stems, flushing bronze red as the weather cools and settling to deep green in the warmth. Small white bell flowers hang beneath the stems in spring.

Why you'll love it

• Colour without losing the leaves. It holds foliage all year but shifts from green to burgundy and red through the cold months, so a shaded bed still has interest in July.
• Genuinely small. At roughly 900mm each way it stays in scale beside a path and never needs cutting back to fit.
• It likes shade and damp. Part shade with moist soil is exactly where it performs, which covers the difficult ground under trees and beside downpipes.
• Low maintenance by nature. Slow, tidy growth means no shaping, no staking and no annual rescue prune.

Where it works best

Borders and edging. The arching habit softens the front of a shaded bed. Plant 600mm apart along a path for a continuous low edge.

Mass planting. At the same 600mm spacing it knits into a low carpet under established trees, where the changing colour reads better across a group than on one plant.

Pots and small gardens. A pot 400mm or wider suits it, and the weeping stems spill over the rim. Use an acidic potting mix, the type sold for camellias and azaleas.

Growing twisting red leucothoe in Australia

Position and climate. Part shade, ideally with morning sun and protection from hot afternoon glare. This is a plant for cool temperate and warm temperate gardens, and it is frost hardy, so southern and tableland gardens suit it well. It struggles in subtropical and tropical heat.

Soil. Moist, acidic, humus rich soil. Work compost or aged pine bark through the bed and mulch 75mm deep. It handles wet feet better than most shrubs, so damp ground is fine, though it yellows in alkaline soil.

Water and feed. Keep the root zone consistently moist, especially through the first two summers. It is not a drought plant. Feed with an azalea and camellia fertiliser in early spring and lightly after flowering.

Pruning. Almost none required. Remove stems that die back and tip prune after flowering for a denser mound. Growth is slow, so avoid hard pruning: it takes several seasons to recover.

What to expect when it arrives

It is supplied in one size, 200mm pots in packs of six, the practical quantity for edging or mass planting, and that size currently runs on backorder, so allow time before dispatch. Plants arrive as bushy young shrubs around 200mm to 300mm tall, with leaf colour already showing in the cooler months.

Because growth is slow, expect two to three seasons before a row closes into a continuous edge. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Learn how to lower soil pH if your beds are alkaline.
• See more plants for partial shade.
• Browse the autumn colour range.
• Find companions in low growing plant ideas for borders.

Common questions

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

No. Like other plants in the heath family, the foliage contains grayanotoxins and is toxic to cats, dogs and horses if eaten. Plant it away from pets that chew leaves.

Will it grow in Brisbane or Darwin?

It is not suited to hot humid climates. Cool temperate and warm temperate gardens are its range, so anywhere with genuine winter cold and a shaded, moist position.

Why has my plant gone pale and yellow?

Almost always alkaline soil, which locks up iron. Mulch with aged pine bark, feed with an azalea and camellia fertiliser, and apply iron chelates to correct the colour.