The Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe, otherwise known as the Leucothoe Fontanesiana ‘Little Flames’ Plant Patent #25,246 or Vicary Privet ‘Golden Ticket’, Ligustrum ‘NCLX1’ PP27031, CBR5560, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its multicolored colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe wants regular watering to enhance fruit production but as a landscape plant, too much water will be a problem.
- Light: Keep your Leucothoe Fontanesiana ‘Little Flames’ Plant Patent #25,246 in an environment where it can receive partial shade to partial sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, chalk, and loam.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe belongs to the Oleaceae family, and the genus Ligustrum, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Leucothoe Fontanesiana ‘Little Flames’ Plant Patent #25,246 (loo-KOTH-o-ee fon-ta-nee-zee-AH-na).
As with other Ligustrum’s, the Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe is a plant native to the hybrid of non-native parents.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Leucothoe Fontanesiana ‘Little Flames’ Plant Patent #25,246 will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 8 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5a, 5b, 6b, 6a, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, H1, H2.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, what size of Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…
The Leucothoe Fontanesiana ‘Little Flames’ Plant Patent #25,246 can grow up to 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) in 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) and 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) in 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm).
These dimensions make the Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe a relatively large shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful mounding, compact, and spreading shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 48″ – 72″ (120cm – 180cm) free so the Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Leucothoe Fontanesiana ‘Little Flames’ Plant Patent #25,246 wants regular watering to enhance fruit production but as a landscape plant, too much water will be a problem.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively low to average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, and moist properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe prefers to have soil with good drainage, and moist properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, chalk, and loam.
This is why most experts agree that the Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe requires soil with clay, loam (silt), sand, and shallow rocky, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe requires partial shade to partial sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Leucothoe Fontanesiana ‘Little Flames’ Plant Patent #25,246 in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe to flower around the spring months from April to June (spring).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its fragrant around the plant enthusiast community.
The Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe produces some beautiful white, or white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe have a beautiful multicolored color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Leucothoe Fontanesiana ‘Little Flames’ Plant Patent #25,246 to be around (1-3 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe is well known for being able to attract butterflies, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Leucothoe Fontanesiana ‘Little Flames’ Plant Patent #25,246 will be fine.
Garden
Does your Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Leucothoe Fontanesiana ‘Little Flames’ Plant Patent #25,246 owners agree that this shrub will look great in most contemporary, asian/zen and cottage gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of prairie and meadow styles.
In particular, the Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe’s best location within your garden is in patio and containers, beds and borders, hedges and screens, and in small gardens, others use it for landscaping in a mass planting, very wet areas, border, hedge, urban garden, naturalized areas, ground cover, cutting garden, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Rhododendron, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Ilex will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Leafscape™ Little Flames Leucothoe to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
