Japanese Pieris (Pieris japonica)

Our Japanese Pieris must have loved our cold winter because it is covered with long dangling chains of small, white, urn-shaped flowers. In the bright sunlight this week it was absolutely dazzling. It grows four to six feet tall and wide here. Its growth habit is upright and spreading with dense evergreen foliage. This shrub is a cousin of Rhododendrons. It does best in light shade. Full sun will bleach the lustrous dark green leaves. It needs acid, organic soil. Plant it shallow like Azaleas. The soil must be well-drained, but keep the plant well watered. It has shallow roots. Like its cousins, the Pieris gets leaf spots, branch die back, root rot (if too wet), and is attacked by lace bugs.
When the Pieris is healthy, it is a beautiful shrub in the home landscape. It can be planted in mass or as a specimen, one of many in a shrub border or the shrub that greets guests at your front door. Ours is in the shade garden and it’s spectacular this spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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