Illustration
Coast Leucothoe
Leucothoe axillaris
Also called coastal doghobble, coastal leucothoe and swamp doglaurel
Coast Leucothoe blooms from May through May.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Coast Leucothoe
Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–9. Expect it to reach about 3.5 ft tall and 4.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 5 years (a house reading).
Is Coast Leucothoe toxic to dogs or cats?
- Listed as toxic to dogs and cats by NC State Extension.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. 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 Coast Leucothoe
Plant Coast Leucothoe 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 7, the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 9, spring means March to May and fall means September or October. Once settled, it blooms in May.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 7, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 7 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Coast Leucothoe get?
3.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult4.5 ftwideSee Coast Leucothoe 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 Coast Leucothoe
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Coast Leucothoe about 4.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Coast Leucothoe 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
Coast Leucothoe's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 8 published sources on October 17, 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 and trait tags
- Plant Addictsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and bloom months and color
- taylorsnursery.comTaylor's Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- briggsnursery.comBriggs Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, bloom months and color and trait tags
- plantdatabase.uconn.eduUniversity of Connecticut Plant Databaseheight, spread, hardiness zones and sun
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Mt. Cuba Centerheight, hardiness zones and water
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 8 states
United States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia
Recorded growing wild in 150 counties.
Also grows wild, but is not native, in Maryland and Rhode Island.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
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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.