Pieris Anybody!

I'm seeing lots of pieris with red blossoms in bloom. Who has one of these - what should I look for and where should I get it?

Katie

Do they have red blossoms......???? Have a look at this one if you get the chance, its a beautiful Japanese one!! Pieris japonica Katsura or Pieris Forest Flame

Mark

This message was edited Mar 21, 2008 6:48 AM

Hi Mark -

Yes!! Red blossoms. Katsura and Valley Valentine have been two of them that I've seen online. I have Forest Flame and absolutely love it.

Katie

I will keep my eyes open for you................. see if i can find any here!!

Mark

Try Little Heath and Carnival

Do you know about how much they grow every year? I have three that I got last summer and they are very slow growers, is that normal? One was in a one gallon pot and the other two where in 4 inch pots. Thanks, Rachel

Oh yes, they are slow growers............

Valley Valentine - 3 years old from a 2 gallon pot, has doubled in size, now at 3'.
I'll see if I have a full size shot.

Wow, that's a pretty one!

Pretty!!

Katye,
Beautiful Pieris, maybe I should add a red Pieris to the shed planting, that is gorgeous!

Carla - you could expect growth of 6-8' x 4'. But I've often wondered if they would do well pruned as a semi-standard, like a miniature tree. Don't know if they would espalier well, but maybe...

I trim one of mine every year, I do not want it to get out of hand since it is in the front yard and honestly it is my favorite of the three, maybe I should start trimming the other two....lol it has the most interesting shape! I will take a picture in the next couple of days, it is also the one I started a new cutting from to share with susybell. It is Pieris Taiwanensis and full of off white bloom right now.

My baby one isn't blooming, but is looking pretty good otherwise. :)

Hi Sue,
How are you doing? I always miss you when I am on here....
Good I am so glad it is doing well, mine blooms a couple of more times and has lots of orange new growth several times a year. I always go out and take off the bloom stems off, I just like tidy plants...lol
Be right back dryer went off and it is hang up clothes...
Happy gardening,
Carla

I think I might get another one & train it as a standard - it would be an attractive shape for the way it blooms.
P. floribunda has flowers that are held more upright.
P. japonica has the cascading clusters.

I have P. jap. variegata & the fragrance in the evening is pretty. The Bees are very territorial about the Pieris in my yard - so this is a great plant for them to have access to.

Katye,
Very nice, love the variegated leaves!

Is that the one with the smaller-sized variegated foliage? So pretty. I've been thinking about adding one like that, maybe next year.

Hi Carla, How are you? We have been missing reach other lately, I haven't been spending as much time on here, and I think we're on at opposite times. I'm doing pretty well-want spring to get here! How's this crazy weather treating you?

Sue,
This weather isn't treating me very well at all, we have put a time table on our moving to Arizona. The longest we will be here is 2 years. If the economy picks up sooner we will make the move sooner. I am having trouble in more joints now and am looking forward to the warmer weather. I stay in the house with the heat on and the heating pad going. I go out only on the sunny days and when I do I wear snow bibs and all the warm attire. Boy it will sure be nice to go home, I will just have to relearn the planting down there. I have been in the PNW since 1985, I am sure I will miss parts of it...but not the months on end of drizzle...lol I will let you know and you can come and get some of my daylilies, dahlias,etc. I will take alot with me most of the things I grow will do fine there it will just be different times of bloom than here.
Hope you and your DH are doing well.

Sue - yes, I believe this is the one you were speaking of - the leaves are not so big.
This is what the new foliage looks like:

I love the pictures. What a great plant the variegated one is. There is one that is very nice, called Cavatine. It has white flowers and only gets 2 feet so you can have it right in front! Its really a lovely one and is so covered with flowers its a white ball when its in bloom.

I do like these plants as they always look good, there is never a time when they are unsightly and here its been our experience that the deer will not touch them.

Carla, I hope I get to meet you before you go, I would be so sad. but then again, at least you would be warm and not hurt so much.
And don't forget the Lucky Bamboo.
Hugs
Tills

And I've had them recommended for the Mason bees, becaues they predictably have flowers available when the bees need them.

Katye, that one is stunning! What cultivar is that? Although the size of Cavatine sounds perfect for me. I'll have to study this a little more. And, it makes Mason bees happy-doesn't get much better than that...

Carla, I'm so sad to hear that you're so uncomfortable and that it's gotten worse. :( :( We'll miss you around here-you'll have to still visit with us. Where in Arizona will you go-greater Phoenix area? At least housing prices have come down all over and are still up around here-that will help, I hope. Let us know if we can come up and give you a hand- a tea and weeding party, perhaps?

We're doing OK down here. DH had some surgery to repair a hernia he's had for ages and had started to get worse, and so is off all lifting for about another month, which is making things interesting.

Oh, Sue - didn't know that you guys were facing surgery. I'm glad your DH had it done if he needed it and I hope he's a good patient.

Sue - I think the tag said Pieris japonica 'variegata'. If i find it I'll let you know!

I used to have Cavatine - it is a fabulous little Pieris and worth seeking out. One of the Doug fir jumbo limbs crushed them in a storm - I had roots left, that's all...they became compost.

This message was edited Mar 29, 2008 10:36 PM

Sue, I certainly hope all is going well for him. So are you having to be the waitress? I know how that goes, I am too independent to be waited on but my DH loves to be waited on even if he has a cold...lol I feel for you take care of yourself too...

Katye, ouch! I'll keep my eyes open for the Cavatine-for both of us!

K59, The surgery was "outpatient" surgery-we were in and out of there in about 4 hrs with the requisite pain prescriptions. So, not too terrifying, in the grand scheme of things-it would have been much worse if the hernia had grown much worse and ruptured. The first couple of days afterward were a little weird, with him on the pain meds and just a little off kilter. But he's on the mend and doing great.

Carla, we crossed--lol, yes, there is that. One thing I think is hard for him is that I'm doing all the lifting when we go shopping. He's gotten a few strange looks when people have seen "the wife" lifting stuff and he's just standing there. I think it's interesting for him to watch how I do stuff-it's kind of a window on how I manage when he's NOT with me.

This message was edited Mar 29, 2008 10:59 PM