PlantFiles: Japanese Pieris, Andromeda, Lily of the Valley Shrub
Pieris japonica

this whacky ohio weather pushed it into bloom! its september 1 in a day! its also has that beautifull red growth(that prob. wont harden it time for winter) but im soo excited!!!

update
no blooms yet, just flower buds

update: i guss its just getting ready 4 spring. i hope it blooms early in spring. it has a great contrast with the snow.

Low growing Azaleas are a wonderful match for this plant. Really attracts the bees when in bloom.

Very slow growing shrub! It likes shade more than sun and I have yet to see any blooms on it after two years. The foliage is beautiful though and comes out a rich red and turns to green. Very interesting.

Lots of new cultivars are available, including varigated forms. Many sport blood-red new foliage (Mountain Fire, Flaming Silver, etc). A number now have pink or reddish flowers. Flowers VERY early; VERY fragrant. Consider protecting it from winter winds (or use wilt-pruf/etc), but overall very hardy if planted in acid, humus soil. Happy in part shade.

Dead-head after flowering for increased flowers the next year or if you don't like the look of the seeds.

Around here, deer eat EVERYTHING -- and they don't seem to touch pieris.

We have one growing along the front foundation, on the northwest side of the house underneath a catalpa tree. It's over five feet tall and about 4 feet wide. This shrub has been growing there for more than 15 years and is strong and beautiful, surviving some really bad New England winters, salt, pollution, compact acidic soil, etc. without us ever having to do anything at all to protect it. It's an amazing shrub. Maybe if we did more it would get taller and fuller but, to be honest, it's the perfect size for it's location.

This shrub in my region also produces great sprays of lily of the valley like flowers in Mid Winter to Early Spring. pokerboy.

I have several Pieris Japonica, cultivar 'Purity'. This shrub is a little fussy, but a true pleasure to enjoy. Pieris Japonica was a challenge for my garden because this shrub likes moist but "fluffy" acidic soil and our soil is very compacted clay. Soil preparation was the key. I mixed our natural soil with 1 part course (clean) sand and 1 part peat moss to 1 part clay soil, digging a hole that was 2 times the width of the root ball to give the shrub plenty of room to root without struggling. Feed with an acidic fertilizer right after blooming. For best bloom next season, cut "spent" blooms as they fade and before they develop into fruits. Flower buds for the next spring form on previous season's growth, so do not prune this plant in the fall / winter or you will not see many flowers the following spring. To my experience, this plant prefers shade to sun; it may survive in sun but it will be stressed, and the leaves will not achieve the dark glossy green that makes the white flowers all the more striking. Sun stress, soggy soil, and neutral or alkaline soil can also cause pale leaves, lack of flowering, die-back, and less resistance to pests. Prone to scale and mites. I sprayed my "sick" one with an iron sulfide solution, then later replanted it out of the sun and it came back strong the following spring. Shelter from harsh winter wind in northern areas. It will recover from frost damage if otherwise healthy. Very good for a foundation planting on north or east side of house, or planted in dappled shade garden. Likes to be mulched with pine needles, appreciates the "working in" of composted matter to surrounding soil in very early spring.