Habitat:

• native to Virginia down through Florida
• hardy to zone 6 and warmer parts of 5

Habitat and Form:

• an evergreen shrub
• 2' to 4' tall
• 6' wide
• widespreading branches
• medium-coarse texture
• moderate growth rate

Summer Foliage:

• alternate leaf arrangement
• simple, evergreen leaves
• ovate leaf shape
• 2" to 4" long
• 2" wide
• uneven serration to entire margins
• leathery, dark green leaf

Fall Foliage:

• reddish, bronze winter color

Flowers:

• white flowers
• flowers borne in axillary racemes
• up to 2.5" long

Fruit:

• brown capsule
• not ornamentally important

Bark:

• stems mix of green and red
• glabrous and shiny
• zigzag stem pattern

Culture:

• prefers moist, cool, acid soils
• best in partial shade
• can rejuvenate old plants by pruning to ground in spring
• protect from winter wind

Landscape use:

• naturalizing
• borders with other ericaceous plants
• facer plants with taller plants
• shady bank stabilization

Liabilities:

• desiccation burn in winter in exposed sites
• leaf spot can be a problem in area with poor air circulation
• hard to find

ID Features:

• plant is shorter and broader than L. fontanesiana
• colonizing habit
• evergreen, alternate, 2-4" long leaves with variable margins
• racemes of white urn-shaped flowers in axil
• reddish bronze winter color

Propagation:

• cutting root readily in June or winter root easily with hormone
• seed

Cultivars/Varieties:

'Compacta' (perhaps the same as 'Nana') - This is a dwarf, dense form reaching only 2' tall and wider. 'Augusta Evans Wilson', 'Beulah' and 'Macaria' are similar dwarf selections.

'Dodd's Variegated' - This cultivar has leaves mottled with creamy white.

'Greensprite' - Perhaps the most common commercial cultivar, this plant features arching, somewhat stiff branches that carry narrow evergreen leaves. It reaches 6' tall with a spread of 10'.

'Sarah's Choice' - A low, mounded plant 4' tall and wide, this selection features profuse bloom and reddish new foliage.