Illustration
Blue Shadow Fothergilla
Fothergilla × intermedia 'Blue Shadow'
Blue Shadow Fothergilla blooms from April through May.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Blue Shadow Fothergilla
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–8. Expect it to reach about 5 ft tall and 5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 10 years (checked).
Pets
- No toxic listing found for dogs and cats in the sources we check.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Blue Shadow Fothergilla. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Blue Shadow Fothergilla
Plant Blue Shadow Fothergilla in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from April to May.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Blue Shadow Fothergilla get?
5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult5 ftwideSee Blue Shadow Fothergilla in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Blue Shadow Fothergilla
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Blue Shadow Fothergilla about 5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Blue Shadow Fothergilla to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Blue Shadow Fothergilla's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, years to mature size, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 33 published sources on October 11, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- Plant Addictsthe queue's store pageheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil and pests
- NC State ExtensionFothergilla latifolia, previously known as F. major; the species page...height, sun, water, bloom months and color, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- onrockgarden.comOntario Rock Garden & Hardy Plant Society (Plant of the Month, October...height, spread, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Society (UK)height, spread, sun, water, bloom months and color, soil, diseases and pests
- University of Wisconsin HorticultureFothergilla, Susan Mahr; a genus article with a cultivar listsun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- Fine GardeningKristin Green, 'Regional Picks: Early Summer Plant Combo for the North...height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
- saundersbrothers.comSaunders Brothers (wholesale grower, Piney River, Virginia)height, spread, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- US plant patent (Google Patents)Google Patents (US Plant Patent PP15,490 P3, 'Fothergilla major plant...height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
- holdenfg.orgHolden Forests & Gardens (Nature Profiles: Fothergilla; the Holden Arb...sun, water, bloom months and color, soil and pests
- Chicago Botanic Gardenan archived plant-finder pagehardiness zones, sun, water and bloom months and color
- utgardens.tennessee.eduUT Gardens, the University of Tennessee (2022 Fall Plant Inventory, it...height, spread, water and bloom months and color
- cheekwood.orgCheekwood Estate & Gardens (Top Plant Picks May 2023, dated April 25,...bloom months and color, trait tags and pests
- Internet Archive (archived page)Missouri Botanical Garden, Kemper Center PlantFinder (the garden's ear...bloom months and color, years to mature size and soil
- The Morton Arboretumthe Dwarf fothergilla page, Fothergilla gardenii, whose Cultivars list...height, sun, soil and pests
- canr.udel.eduUniversity of Delaware Botanic Gardens (2021 Spring Plant Sale Catalog...height and bloom months and color
- Oregon State Universitythe Fothergilla major page, which carries a 'Blue Shadow' paragraphheight, sun and soil
- piedmontmastergardeners.orgPiedmont Master Gardeners (an Extension Master Gardener unit of Virgin...height, spread and soil
- atlantabg.orgAtlanta Botanical Garden (the plant profile 'Witch Alder', whose Scien...bloom months and color
- canr.udel.eduUniversity of Delaware Botanic Gardens (2018 Spring Plant Sale Catalog...bloom months and color
- cincinnatizoo.orgCincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (Horticultural Report: Pollinator Wa...bloom months and color
- handynursery.comHandy Nursery (the introducer's own plant list, headed 'Handy Nursery...bloom months and color
- holdenfg.orgHolden Forests & Gardens (the Get Growing Blog post 'Which Witch Hazel...bloom months and color
- mainegardens.orgCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens (What's in Bloom, the garden's list of...bloom months and color
- mainegardens.orgCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens (What's in Bloom, the garden's list of...bloom months and color
- mainegardens.orgCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens (What's in Bloom, the garden's list of...bloom months and color
- mainegardens.orgCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens (What's in Bloom, the garden's list of...bloom months and color
- morrisarboretum.orgMorris Arboretum & Gardens of the University of Pennsylvania (the arti...bloom months and color
- canr.udel.eduUniversity of Delaware Botanic Gardens (2016 Spring Plant Sale Catalog...height
- canr.udel.eduUniversity of Delaware Botanic Gardens (2009 Spring Plant Sale Catalog...height
- cincinnatizoo.orgCincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (the post 'Fall Color at the Cincinn...trait tags
- pennhort.libanswers.comPennsylvania Horticultural Society (ask PHS, a McLean Library answer a...soil
- The Morton ArboretumSeasonal Display Containers and Beds, Spring 2019, a PDF; Lisle, Illin...trait tags
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.