Pieris japonica, Japanese pieris [PEA-AIR-ISS], is not the easiest plant to make happy in Birmingham but that doesn’t deter local garden shops from carrying it. Its drooping racemes of fragrant, white winter flowers and lustrous evergreen foliage are tempting, especially to gardeners who have seen mature plants in cooler climes. Japanese pieris is not well-suited to our heavy soils and relentless summer heat, but there are several related pieris that share this species’ attributes and are worth a closer look.
Hybrids of Pieris japonica and P. floribunda (mountain pieris, a US native) include ‘Brouwer’s Beauty’ and ‘Karenoma’, and these are both worth trying. Both exhibit the nice flowering qualities of their Japanese parent and retain the heat tolerance of their American parent. New leaves emerge glossy orange- to bronze-red, providing another asset. Pieris ryukyuensis ‘Temple Bells’ represents the typical form of that species, found only Ryukyu Island, Japan. Both it and Pieris taiwanensis are not easy to locate in the trade, but their beauty and heat tolerance are legend
The ideal site for Pieris species, cultivars and hybrids is one protected from winter winds and direct summer sun. Like most of its kin in the Ericaceae, or heath family, soil must be acid, well-drained and with ample organic matter; these plants will quickly die under an irrigation regime tuned to big-leaf hydrangeas. Expect slow growth from these plants, a trait all pieris are known for, valuable where space is limited but a woody, evergreen plant is desired.
Pieris japonica flowers dusted with mid-January flurries; buds and blooms are frost-tolerant. Shown here in early March, the flowers of Pieris × ‘Karenoma’ are often effective for two months, like many of its relatives.
Shown here in early March, the flowers of Pieris × ‘Karenoma’ are often effective for two months, like many of its relatives.
I love flowers. They're pretty.
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