Large fothergilla
Fothergilla major · Hamamelidaceae
Honey-scented, white bottlebrush flowers on bare twigs in spring, and in autumn a mix of yellow, orange and scarlet, often on a single leaf.
- Size
- 8 ft tall, 6½ ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late April to mid May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around large fothergilla
The planner designed this bed around large fothergilla when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why large fothergilla stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Large fothergilla × 1, white
- 2 Blue star creeper × 21, blue
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 49, yellow
- 4 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 5 Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe' × 5, pink
- 6 Palm sedge × 3, green leaves
- 7 Winter heath 'Kramer's Red' × 3, pink
- 8 Joe Pye weed 'Gateway' × 1, pink
- 9 Woodland phlox × 13, lavender
- 10 Indian pink × 8, red
- 11 Snow crocus × 13, purple
- 12 Camassia × 6, blue
- 13 Double snowdrop × 19, white
Why this plant
- The only globes. The others are daisies, plumes, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So do palm sedge and winter heath 'Kramer's Red'.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 8 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to white mugwort (5 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late April to mid May.
- Part of the bed's peak. With mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana', woodland phlox and camassia in mid May: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 18 of the 22 groups (82%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowers run from mid January to mid September: 37 weeks in all. The longest in flower is winter heath 'Kramer's Red': 15 weeks, from mid January to mid April.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where large fothergilla goes in a border
At 8 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
One of the finest native shrubs for autumn colour, with no pests and no need for pruning. It needs acid soil, and colours best with some sun.
- Autumn colour
- Scented spring flowers
- Woodland edges and shrub borders
What to plant with large fothergilla
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Mountain laurel: takes over when it finishes, flowering from late May; happy in the same moist soil.
- Rhododendron 'PJM': in flower together for four weeks, from late April; low enough (5 ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Christmas fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (20 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about large fothergilla
Does large fothergilla need sun or shade?
Large fothergilla grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does large fothergilla grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does large fothergilla flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late April to mid May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Early May to late May |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late April to mid May |
| Zone 6 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 8 | Early April to late April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should large fothergilla be planted?
6 ft (180 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6½ ft (200 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 8 ft (250 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many large fothergilla plants do I need?
Usually one. At 6 ft (180 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is large fothergilla poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat large fothergilla?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after large fothergilla?
Large fothergilla is over by mid May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Mountain laurel: from late May to late June, 8 ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Oakleaf hydrangea: from mid June to early August, 6½ ft tall.
- Lilac 'Miss Kim': from late May to mid June, 6 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does large fothergilla look like in winter?
Large fothergilla drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is large fothergilla good for bees and butterflies?
Large fothergilla is visited by bees, butterflies and songbirds.
It is native to the United States.
More Fothergilla
- Dwarf fothergilla Fothergilla gardenii
- Fothergilla 'Blue Shadow' Fothergilla x intermedia 'Blue Shadow'
- Fothergilla 'Mount Airy' Fothergilla x intermedia 'Mount Airy'
In these guides
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native plants for shade
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 8 ft (250 cm) tall, 6½ ft (200 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6 ft (180 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late April to mid May; globes; white, cream
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; dark green, blue-green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Hamamelidaceae
- Comes from
- Mountanous regions of Southeast US
- Attracts
- Bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Wet soil
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.