Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Description:

This rare variation of the Hayata tree is compact very slow growing variety; dark green foliage colors in winter from bronze to purple; excellent choice for the rock garden or troughs; prune out faster growing sports

Ornamental Features

Little Leo Dwarf Chinese Fir is a dwarf conifer which is primarily valued in the garden for its broadly spreading habit of growth. It has attractive dark green evergreen foliage which emerges light green in spring. The needles are highly ornamental and turn plum purple in the fall, which persists throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Little Leo Dwarf Chinese Fir is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub. When pruning is necessary, it is recommended to only trim back the new growth of the current season, other than to remove any dieback. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Little Leo Dwarf Chinese Fir is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Little Leo Dwarf Chinese Fir will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Little Leo Dwarf Chinese Fir makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.

This plant is not reliably hardy in our region, and certain restrictions may apply; contact the store for more information.