Rounder than some of the Pieris with dark red new growth in spring.
All the Pierises create a shapely, layered, lumpy-bumpy profile in time. It might take 15 years in some cases but it’s definitely worth the wait. Apart from this wonderful shape, you have prolific quantities of white hanging bell shaped flowers, gorgeous new red growth and beautiful stringy bark on older plants. Some of the shapely little Pieris trees found in National Trust gardens planted by Victorians, are worth the entrance fee too.
Many plants from Japan (japonica is the clue) respond to a couple of mild days in February as : “It’s spring!“. If they were back home in Japan, it would be spring and therefore time to produce their lovely new leaves. Little do they know of the treacherous climate of Perfidious Albion. The problem is as follows : new growth emerges because it’s warmed up a bit in March. The wind comes round to the north, we get a severe frost in April and all the lovely new growth goes black overnight. If you’re near the coast or in a heavily built up area, the plant will remain unaffected but frosted new growth in cold rural gardens is a fact of life. It’s a minor setback but the plant will recover and by June all will be well and the trauma of late frosts, a distant memory.
They like good organic acid soil and a bit of shade and they’re slow growing – 5ft after 10 years maybe. If you see Pieris that looks more like a small tree in a National Trust garden, remember it was probably planted in 1860.
We have also started experimenting with Pieris Niwaki on the nursery using very old ones and we’ve had some beautiful results.
Propagated by cuttings.
N.B. When clipping several plants with the same tool, have a bucket containing a 5% bleach solution and swish your blades around for 30 seconds between plants to sterilise them. This will help avoid the chance of cross contamination of disease.
As with all woody plants, plant high, exposing as much of the taper at the base of the trunk as possible. Allowing soil to accumulate round the base of a tree can be fatal. Keep very well watered when first planted.
Hardy anywhere in Britain below approximately 1000ft (300m)
This is only meant as a guide. Please remember we're always on hand to give advice
about plants and their frost hardiness.
Please remember that these coloured labels are only a rough guide.
General Point about Plant Hardiness: The commonly held belief that it's better to
'plant small' is perfectly true with herbaceous plants, but not necessarily true
with woody plants. They need some 'wood' on them to survive severe cold - so plants
of marginal hardiness in very cold areas should really be planted LARGER, rather
than smaller, wherever possible.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.