Japanese Pieris or Pieris

(Ericaceae - Ericaceous or Heath Family)

Form

• medium-sized, broadleaf evergreen, ornamental shrub
• to 10' tall by 8' wide, but often smaller
• upright irregular to upright oval growth habit in youth, becoming a spreading mound growth habit with age, with somewhat tiered branching to the ground
• slow growth rate

Culture

• partial shade to full shade
• performs well in partial shade in moist, rich, well-drained, acidic soils, but is intolerant of full sun, poor soils, compacted soils, poorly drained or wet soils, and especially soils of neutral to alkaline pH
• propagated by seeds or rooted cuttings
• Ericaceous Family, with several diseases (leaf spot, Phytophthora stem infestations) and pests (lacebug, scale, mite, and nematode) that may lead to the decline, dieback, and death of the plant, especially when it is under additional abiotic stresses (alkaline soil pH, wet soils, full sun, etc.) that predispose it to biotic attack
• commonly available in container or ball and burlap form
• chlorosis and poor health are often due to being sited in alkaline or neutral pH soils, with the resulting iron/nitrogen nutrient deficiency causing the relative absence of green chlorophyll in the leaves
• lace bugs suck the juice from leaves, also causing yellowing of the foliage and a decline of the plant that may result in its eventual death

Foliage

• evergreen leaves emerge bronzed, change to chartreuse, and eventually mature as dark green, and alternate along the stems but become clustered at the stem termini
• obovate to narrow oblanceolate, lustrous and glabrous, with a cuneate base narrowing to a yellow petiole, with entire to finely serrated margins

Flowers

• showy creamy-white branched inflorescences are pendulous, to 6" long, and effective for two to three weeks in late March and early April
• each flower appears like an inverted urn, is slightly fragrant, and contrasts well with the dark evergreen foliage behind it
• floral buds form during the previous Summer, are typically light green or reddish, and are attractive as immmature inflorescences on thin pedicels throughout Autumn and Winter

Fruits

• brown five-valved capsules persist throughout the year on the fruiting stalks, and while ornamentally insignficant, are noticeable when viewed up-close

Twigs

• chartreuse stems tinted with red mature to dark gray branches, lightly furrowed and mottled with patches of silver

Trunk

• dark gray, and furrowed to platy

ID Summary

• multistemmed, upright to spreading broadleaf evergreen shrub having dark green foliage on chartreuse stems, with prominent drooping panicles of Winter floral buds, opening in very late Winter or early Spring as pendulous clusters of urn-shaped white flowers, which preceed the emergence of the bronzed new foliage

USAGE

Function

• foundation or understory shrub, usually found in shady areas as a specimen, at an entranceway, or in a group planting

Texture

• medium texture
• average density

Assets

• attractive evergreen dark green foliage emerges bronzed or red
• showy white pendulous inflorescences in late Winter and very early Spring
• attractive clustered floral buds in Autumn and Winter
• branches to the ground
• shade-loving shrub

Liabilities

• chlorosis and poor health are often due to the absolute intolerance of alkaline or neutral pH soils (with the resulting iron/nitrogen nutrient deficiency), or siting in full sun to partial sun
• lace bugs are a serious pest (and also give similar symptoms as noted above) due to their sucking the juice from leaves

Habitat

• zones 5 to 8
• native to Japan

SELECTIONS

Alternates

• broadleaf evergreen shrubs (Buxus hybrids, Kalmia latifolia, Rhododendron species, Yucca filamentosa, etc.)
• shrubs with late Winter or early Spring flowers (Chaenomeles speciosa, Cornus mas, Corylus avellana 'Contorta', Hamamelis vernalis, etc.)

Variants

• Pieris japonica 'Dorothy Wycoff' - dark red floral buds emerge as light pink flowers
• Pieris japonica 'Mountain Fire' - fiery new foliage is a brilliant red instead of bronzed; perhaps the most common cultivar
• Pieris japonica 'Purity' - larger pure-white flowers on compact plants that bloom at an early age
• Pieris japonica 'Red Mill' - emergent red leaves mature to dark green but are thick and leathery, white flowers last a week longer than normal, possesses a dense growth habit, and reportedly disease and pest resistant
• Pieris japonica 'Scarlet O'Hara' - white flowers on a narrow upright growth habit
• Pieris japonica 'Variegata' - young foliage emerges red, maturing to green with creamy-white leaf margins
• Pieris 'Brouwer's Beauty' - compact hybrid (of Pieris japonica and Pieris floribunda) which is spreading, more resistant to lace bug, more tolerant of alkaline soil pH, and has purplish-pink floral buds

NOTES

Translation

• Pieris is derived from Pierides, an alternative name of the mythological Muses, the goddesses of the arts.
• japonica translates as "from Japan".

Purpose

• Japanese Pieris is the first broadleaf evergreen shrub to flower, in late Winter to early Spring.

Summary

• Pieris japonica is an upright to spreading ornamental shrub, noted for its emerging bronzed foliage, dark shiny evergreen mature foliage, showy floral buds that mature in late Summer and are attractive in Autumn and Winter, and showy white (or pink) inflorescences that bloom in late Winter to early Spring.