I found this lovely Pieris Japonica today in- of all places-WalMart! I researched a little and it sounds like they are good here. But what about the winds? We get some bad winds around here, and the flowers look delicate. Any help is appreciated- Thanks- Jo
I literally did a quick search on Google on "pieris japonica" and "wind". It looks like pieris can suffer from leaf scorch in if it experiences a lot of wind.
Here are the search results:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=pieris+japonica+wind&aq=f&oq=
We have spent a lot of time walking the neighborhood that our EWA house is in (probably 75 to 100 houses), and I don't recall seeing any Pieris per se. We pay a lot of attention to the different yards as it is always fun finding things that do well on that side of the hill that don't do so well on the wet side.
It can't hurt to try it, but after glancing at the search results that Katie came up with, I would definitely plant it in a somewhat sheltered spot.
I've seen it around the Tri-Cities, but it can look pretty ragged if not well sheltered. My favorite part is the color changing leaves. The plant itself seems pretty tough. Till in a bit of organic material around the planting site; pieris doesn't really appreciate our alkali, sandy soil.
Thanks, neighbor- I have only been here 15 months- moved from FL, so I am really learning something new! My yard is postage stamp size, so I have to take advantage of every sq ft I have! My newly made gardens did pretty well last summer, and I am already preparing for this year- there are seeds sprouting inside everywhere!
I mostly grew up here, and moved back to Richland five years ago. If you came from Florida I imagine this is quite a shock with its dry temperature extremes. No salt in the soil or air to deal with at least, and although it may feel like it sometimes, no hurricanes. ^_^
I grow various tropicals in the greenhouse, though increasingly I've tried to work on my temperate plants in the yard and my heirloom tomatoes. My previous home was a three acre lot on the Olympic Peninsula, so I know what it's like to have to downsize the landscaping and give up what you were previously growing.
