Leucothoe 'Zebenard' LOVITA leucothoe
size/type
small shrub,small shrub
usual height
0,4-0,8m
usual width
0,5-1,3m
leaves
evergreen broadleaf
colour of leaves
flowers
insignificant or non-blooming
blooming time
May-May
location
full sun to shade
soil type
acidic (peaty)
soil moisture requirements
evenly moist (dislikes drought)
USDA zone (lowest)
5b (down to -27°C)
winter protection
for zone 5+6
for zone 7
categorized
Quite new in our gardens, leucothoe is undoubtedly winning its way to our hearts. It belongs to the same family as for example rhododendrons. Many breeders are hybridizing its species in order to achieve more beautiful, hardier, and healthier plants. One of them is Alex J.Zebehazy from Ohio, USA. In 1984 he came up with 3 new varieties, one of which has conquered the world under the trade name SCARLETTA® (“Zeblid”), and other two followed: CARINELLA (“Zebekot”) and LOVITA (“Zebonard”). The latter one is our subject of today – it is a cross of leucothoe fontanesiana and leucothoe axillaris. It is healthier and more compact than the first one, and hardier with larger leaves than the second parent.
Description of the plant:
LOVITA is a unique variety of leucothoe. Its evergreen leaves are narrowly ovate to short lanceolate with a distinct tip. Their colour is bright burgundy red as they emerge, maturing to dark olive green in summer, and turning crimson red and burgundy red with brown hues in autumn and winter. This colour remains on the plant until the first hot days of spring. In the leaf axils numerous flower buds are borne, opening to short racemes of urn-shaped, creamy white flowers which consume a lot of plant’s energy, therefore we suggest removing most of the flowering branches at any time from spring until the end of flowering to encourage new growths.LOVITA grows slowly or moderately into a mounded shrub that is about 60-70 tall and almost a meter wide in 15 years. It is used both as a groundcover suitable for planting beneath taller shrubs, or in a mixed border, and even a small specimen plant. It remains dense and does not suffer from die back of branches and other diseases common for leucothoe fontanesiana.
This leucothoe will grow anywhere from full sun to full shade where it will keep its beautiful winter colour, too. All it needs is evenly moist, acid soil that is reasonably fertile and well-drained. It proved hardy to min. -26°C (USDA zone 5b), and is recommended for growing in outdoor pots.
Last update 24-02-2012
SIZES and PRICES
shrub
height 20-30 cm, width 20-30 cm
355 Kč
shrub
height 20-30 cm, width 15-20 cm
250 Kč
height 20-30 cm
260 Kč
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GLOSSARY
- STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
- DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
- EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
- STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
- HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
- SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
- HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
- FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
- GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
