# Florida Leucothoe (Agarista populifolia) > A tall evergreen for shady stream banks, with arching stems, red new leaves and fragrant white bells hanging beneath the branches in spring. Also called Florida hobblebush, Florida doghobble, tall fetterbush, pipe-stem wood, Leucothoe populifolia. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/florida-leucothoe/ ![Florida leucothoe (Agarista populifolia) branch with clusters of white bell flowers in the leaf axils](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/florida-leucothoe-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: Fepup, Public domain ยท [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAgarista_populifolia_2.JPG)* ## Facts - Type: Shrub - Mature height: 8 to 12 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 5 to 9 - Grows wild in: Stream banks, the forest understory, the coast, swamps and wet flats - Native range: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina - Sun: Part, Shade - Soil moisture: Average, Wet - Growth rate: Medium - Traits: Evergreen, Showy flowers, Tolerates wet soil, Tolerates shade, Wildlife value, Erosion control - Sold as: Saplings, Seed Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. ## Availability Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed. ## Notes Florida leucothoe is a tall evergreen heath shrub of southern swamps and stream banks. It is the only one of about 31 species of Agarista that reaches the United States, and the rest grow from Mexico to South America and in Africa. Native Americans made pipe stems from its wood, and its shoots are hollow except for thin plates of pith. It grows taller than our mountain doghobble and suffers less leaf scorch in southern gardens. South Carolina ranks it critically imperiled. Plant it along a shady stream or pond edge, where its suckering stems hold the bank. ## Size, growth and what to expect No source rates its growth, so our growth estimator uses a medium rate, about a foot and a half a year. It makes an arching, many-stemmed shrub 8 to 12 feet tall and 5 to 6 feet wide, and some reach 20 feet. Fragrant, creamy white bells hang in clusters beneath the branches from April into June. Each bell is a quarter to three eighths of an inch long. The new leaves emerge red and turn glossy green, and the capsules split in September and October. Songbirds use its evergreen thickets for winter cover and nesting. It grows wild on the coastal plain from southeastern South Carolina to northern Florida, in swamps and wet hammocks and around springs and streams. William Bartram reported it on the Saint Marys River in 1791, but Georgia now has only old records. ## How to grow Florida Leucothoe Florida leucothoe grows in part shade or shade. It wants a cool, moist, acid soil rich in organic matter, and it takes ground that floods now and then. Its arching stems sucker into a colony, so give it room to spread. Set plants 5 feet apart and keep them 3 feet from a wall. At its size it can go within 15 feet of overhead wires. Saplings ship potted. Plant them in fall or early spring, in a hole wider than the root ball and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and mulch with leaves or pine straw, clear of the stems. No published test gives a sowing method for this seed, so any sowing is a trial. Its heath relatives sprout on the surface of a damp, acid mix in good light, with no chilling. Water weekly through the first two summers unless the site stays wet. Deer seldom browse it. It flowers on old wood, so prune only right after flowering, and pruning then can hold it at any height. Florida leucothoe carries both male and female parts in each flower, and bees and butterflies visit the fragrant bells. In a close relative, some plants set seed with their own pollen and others do not, so plant two or more seedlings from different parents for seed. It has no serious pests or diseases. The leaves are highly poisonous if eaten, so keep it away from pets and horses. ## Sources - [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Agarista populifolia](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/agarista-populifolia/) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Agarista populifolia](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=AGPO2) - [Flora of North America, vol. 8: Agarista populifolia](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250065686) - [Trees and Shrubs Online: Agarista populifolia](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/agarista/agarista-populifolia/) - [NatureServe Explorer: Agarista populifolia](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.149060/Agarista_populifolia) - [Georgia Biodiversity Portal, rare plants table exported July 7, 2026](https://georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/table/plants) - [North Carolina Natural Heritage Program: 2024 Rare Plant List, revised 11/03/2025](https://www.ncnhp.org/media/833/open) ## Read before planting - [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md) - [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md) - [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md) - [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md) - [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md) - [Native trees and shrubs for birds: caterpillars, fruit, mast, nests and winter cover, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-birds/index.html.md) ## Related - [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Florida Leucothoe, add ?species=florida-leucothoe with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=florida-leucothoe&zone=5&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Florida Leucothoe](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=florida-leucothoe): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard. - [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=florida-leucothoe - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Florida Leucothoe is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=florida-leucothoe - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Florida Leucothoe needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=florida-leucothoe:2 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Florida Leucothoe flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.