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Japonica and formosa are the most common Pieris cultivars. Glacially growing evergreen shrub. Design height is 4', mature height here is 10' (in Japan, can get up to 20'). Simple leaves, alternately arranged. 2 to 4" long, 3/4 to 1" wide, dark green serrated and elliptic, obovate.
Flowers: racemes, 1/4", white, blooms February through April and intermittently in May. Pronounced bud scars. Brown fruit. Prefers part sun, high to
moderate water, loam and sand. They're tough, and do fine in our winters. Deer proof.
Little pruning required, blooms on old wood. But off old flowers, prune after blooming, stump sprouts.
Because growth is so slow, it's advisable to start out with a larger specimen. Use as bonsai, container plant. Against foundation, as a specimen shrub, background plant. 'Variegata' (photos below) has white margins and blooms
much slower. 'Forest Flame' has brilliant red new growth.
Images above taken at Gamble Garden; images just below Filoli; photo bottom taken by Lisetta Quick. |
