Legend of the Small® is a deciduous shrub cultivar of the bottlebush shrub in the witch hazel family (Hamamelidaceae) bred by Dr. Tom Ranney of NCSU. It is a dwarf fothergilla growing only 2 to 2.5 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide. It will tolerate shade but for best flowering and fall color, provide this shrub with at least 4 to 6 hours of sun in moist, humus-rich, acidic, well-drained soils. Little pruning is required of the dense upright and spreading growth. Fertilize during the growing season with a specially-formulated acidic fertilizer. Legend of the Small® flowers in spring before leafing out with fragrant, white, showy flowers on spikes in the typical bottlebrush form. They are nectar-rich for spring pollinators. The blue-green leaves turn a brilliant yellow, red and orange in fall, giving it three seasons of interest. Use this bottlebrush in the border of pollinator and cottage gardens. It can be used in groups as an understory plant or in mixed shrub hedges. It will also do well in a container as the 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems. VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for " Trees, Shrubs and Conifers " a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
3 feet-6 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 9 in. | Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 1 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Spreading
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Blue; Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Oblong; Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire; Serrate
Leaf feel
Leathery
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Alternate, simple, ovate hairy, leathery blue-green leaves; 1 to 2.5 inches long. Slighly toothed upper margin, smooth on the lower half and a quilted bumpy appearance. Orange, yellow to scarlet fall color.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow; Orange; Red/Burgundy
Flower color
White
Flower form
Spike
Flower detail
White fragrant flowers on spikes that resemble bottlebrushes. April through May, flowers appear before leaves.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit detail
Fruit is an ornamentally insignificant, two-seeded, beaked capsule that matures in fall (September to October), ejecting its black seeds.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Wildlife value
Pollinators are attracted to the nectar-rich flowers