Animal Crossing Leif: How to get Leif and grow shrubs and bushes in New Horizons explained
Why does Leif have an unsettling face?
Leif, like Saharah, is one of the rotating merchants who will occasionally visit your island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
This rather scary looking sloth will sell you a variety of flower seeds and shrub starters, which will eventually grow into bushes.
Leif is, in fact, the only merchant in the game who sells shrub starters, so, if you want to grow some bushes, make sure you pay his stall a visit.
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How to get Leif and Leif's departure time in Animal Crossing: New Horizons explained
Leif can visit your island on any day and will always be found, with his stall, outside Residential Services. He will stay on your island till 5am, which is the reset time for every island in New Horizons.
It's important to note that, if you want Leif to visit your island, you must download the 1.2 update for New Horizons - the same patch which has also seen Redd added to the game. You should be prompted to do so when booting up the game.
How to get shrubs starters in Animal Crossing: New Horizons explained
Leif sells a variety of flower seeds and shrub starters; flowers seeds are 240 Bells each and 1,200 Bells for five, while shrub starters are 280 Bells and 1,400 Bells for five.
To add bushes to your island, you must first buy a couple of shrub starters. These will eventually grow into bushes and, when the season permits it, blossom with flowers.
Every time he visits, Leif will sell four different types of shrub starters and six different types of flower seeds.
The majority of these flower seeds will not be native to your island, so Leif's stall is a great way to diversify your island's wildlife.
You can sell any weeds you might be carrying to Leif for 20 Bells each, which, as he points out, is double the price they sell for at Nook's Cranny.
How to grow shrubs into bushes in Animal Crossing: New Horizons explained
After you've purchased a couple of shrub starters from Leif in New Horizons, it's time to plant them.
Head to the area of your island that you wish to decorate and open your inventory.
Next select the shrub starter that you wish to plant and, just like you would with a bag of flower seeds, select the option to plant.
The shrub starter will now appear on, or around, the tile you're currently standing on.
It will take a couple of days for the shrub to grow, but eventually you'll find a bush growing where you originally planted the shrub starter. If it's the right season, then the bush might also have a number of flowers decorating it.
Finally, planting shrubs will also unlock a new Nook Miles achievement, called Shrubbery Hubbubbery. This will reward you with Nook Miles for planting a certain number of shrubs around your island.
The Animal Crossing 2.0 update and Happy Home Paradise is here! We can help you with the new additions - including where to find Brewster, Gyroids, new villagers, ordinances, new fences, storage shed, new hairstyles, Froggy Chair, group stretching and Kapp'n boat tours. Cooking is now unlockable, so you need to know how to make both flour and sugar, as well as how to grow carrots, potatoes and tomatoes. Meanwhile, if you're new to Animal Crossing, our New Horizons tips can help with the basics. From the off, there's fish and bugs to catch, flowers and fruit to grow with. One long term goal is building your Happy Home Academy score. Finally, you need tools such as the new ladder and vaulting pole to fully explore.
Complete bush list in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Below you'll find a complete list of all the bushes you purchase from Leif in New Horizons:
- Blue hydrangea
- Holly
- Orange tea olive
- Pink azalea
- Pink camellia
- Pink hydrangea
- Red camellia
- Red hibiscus
- White azalea
- Yellow hibiscus
- Yellow tea olive
Good luck growing your shrubs!