Leucothoe keiskei Burning Love

Leucothoe keiskei Burning Love, also known as Leucothoe keiskei Burning Love ('Opstal50') and poetically nicknamed Pearl Flower, is a small evergreen and highly ornamental bush with a spreading and compact habit that adapts wonderfully to the ornamentation of half-shaded terraces and balconies. Its beautiful red and shiny stems bear long leaves whose shades vary throughout the seasons. Dark red-purple in winter, they lighten to bronze and then green when summer arrives, and once again take on a delightful purple hue in autumn. The plant is adorned in spring with slender, short and pendulous clusters covered in white flowers. This variety is perfectly hardy and resists foliage diseases well. It prefers acidic and moist soils, and shows a preference for filtered light.

Leucothoe belongs to the Ericaceae family, like heathers and rhododendrons, with which it shares a strong preference for acidic soils and shade. This modest-size evergreen bush grows in the wet and peaty undergrowth of Japan. Awarded a gold medal at Plantarium in 2013, Burning Love has a dense, spreading and compact habit. It will reach approximately 80 cm (31.5 in) in height and 1 m (3.3 ft) in width at maturity. Its wonderfully colourful foliage is its main asset. It is composed of leaves measuring 6 cm to 10 cm (2.4 in to 3.9 in) long and 2 cm to 3 cm (0.8 in to 1.2 in) wide. The leaves are long and tapering, with a pointed tip. Each leaf is a whirl of colours ranging from deep red-purple with hints of violet in winter to green in summer. This bush is also called Pearl Flower for its spring flowering that appears at the tips of the branches. This appears in the form of clusters measuring 7 cm to 15 cm (2.8 in to 5.9 in), made up of lightly scented white bell-shaped flowers, which bring a beautiful touch of freshness to the whole in April.

It is a hardy bush (up to -20° C (-4° F)) requiring little pruning and maintenance. Leucothoe Burning Love likes acidic, moist, humus-rich and well-drained soils. Its dense and evergreen silhouette is a perfect 'trunk cover' that can be advantageously placed at the base of light trees or bushes, whose base is bare. It forms a beautiful duo with nandinas. It can be planted with medium-sized perennials such as hellebores or ferns, winter heathers (Erica darleyensis), in front of shrub beds composed of pernettyas, azaleas, or pieris, or even as a standalone. It also grows very well in pots, with shade and regular watering with non-limestone water. Its presence will bring a very personal touch to a terrace or balcony.