Seeing it once, you will forever be captivated by the oriental beauty and fragility of this evergreen shrub. The magnificent Japanese pieris with bright shoots and snow-white clusters of flowers will decorate any garden. However, in order to grow it, you need to know some of the characteristics of the plant, the rules for planting and caring for it.
Botanical description
This species belongs to the genus Pieris, belonging to the Heather family. The homeland of the plant is the mountainous regions of Japan, East China and Taiwan. The shrub is evergreen, grows slowly and in natural conditions reaches 3.5 m, in culture it is slightly lower (depending on the variety and conditions) - 0.5-2 m. The leaves are lanceolate, rounded, up to 10 cm long, dense and shiny. A characteristic decorative feature lies in their color. At an early stage of development, young shoots and leaves of Japanese pieris have a rich copper-red, white or pink hue, but turn green over time. The flowers are bell-shaped and remind everyone of the familiarlilies of the valley, but with a tighter fit on large brushes. In nature, they are white; in bred cultivars, they may have a different color. Japanese pieris is especially beautiful during flowering, which is long (from March to April) and plentiful. The fruit is a five-membered woody box.
Due to its high decorativeness, the shrub is popular in culture, including indoor (undersized varieties). Three species are especially common: Japanese, blooming and beautiful. Reproduction in shifts is rather difficult due to slow growth, therefore, most often pieris is purchased in the form of a seedling. Preference should be given to a plant with a closed root system.
Japanese pieris varieties
Breeders have bred a lot of varieties, we focus your attention on the most popular and decorative ones. Most of them have copper-red young leaves.
- Mountain Fire (photo above) - one of the most famous varieties, compact bush - up to 1.5 m in height, dense structure, grows slowly. Young leaves are red-bronze to light brown to deep red.
- Debutane - a dwarf variety that does not grow more than 1 m.
- Japanese Pieris Flaming Silver (on the sixth photo) is a variety of controversial selection, which in some literary sources is referred to as beautiful pieris. A characteristic feature is the presence of a silver-white bordering strip on the leaves.
- Valley Valentine - shrub with young shoots of pink color, large bell-shaped flowersdeep red.
- Red Mill - shrub up to 2 m high. Young leaves are painted red, later turn green, dense and shiny, collected in a whorl. The flowers are white, bell-shaped.
- Variegata (on the third photo) - a medium-sized shrub (1.8-2 m), green leaves with a silvery stripe along the edge. Young shoots are pink.
- Scarlet O'Hara is the fastest growing cultivar of all.
Shrub soil
Japanese Pieris, like other plants from the Heather family, prefers acidic soils with a medium reaction of 3.5-4.5 pH, loose structure and good permeability to moisture and air. To provide these conditions for comfortable growth, peat mixed with sawdust, sand and needles is introduced into the soil. In the future, to maintain the acidity of the soil, sulfur is regularly added to it at the rate of 40 g per square meter. The near-stem circle must be mulched with sand or organic components. For example, pine bark, sawdust or pine nut husks. As it decomposes, all this material will further acidify the soil.
Ground landing
Take a place on the site protected from cold and winds for this bright shrub, calculate the light regime for it (the sun's rays should fall in the afternoon). However, it is also not necessary to shade too much, since the variegated forms will lose all their originality. High humidity is welcome, at whichPieris Japanese will develop more harmoniously.
The dimensions of the landing pit are determined depending on the type of soil: on heavy clay - 11 m, on light and loose enough 0.70.7 m, depth - 0.3-0.4 m. Specialists recommend buying seedlings with a closed root system, they have a higher survival rate. Before planting, water the plant properly so that the earth ball is well saturated. Position the plant in the center of the hole and gently cover with soil, compacting it slightly. The root neck should remain at ground level. Around the seedling for the first time, you can make an earthen roller to retain water during irrigation.
Pieris Japanese: care
The shrub does not belong to the category of capricious plants, however, it requires certain rules to be observed when leaving. In addition to maintaining the acidity of the soil, he needs regular watering, the soil should not dry out. In hot summer, as a rule, young and adult plants need 3 liters and a bucket of water, respectively, at intervals of 2-3 times a week. Pour soft rainwater, you can slightly acidify it with citric, acetic or oxalic acid.
Japanese Pieris has a superficial root system, so the surface of the earth around it does not need to be loosened so as not to damage it. The best option is mulching with organic materials. Special decorative pruning is not required, however, in order to increase the intensity of flowering and activate young shoots, it can be done in the second half of February.
Winteringpierisa
In this species, most often the flowers are white and not as decorative as those of the beautiful pieris. However, it has higher frost resistance and withstands winter cooling down to -30 ° C, therefore it is popular in central Russia. If winters are too cold, then when choosing a plant it makes sense to give preference to dwarf forms. Shelter for the winter is recommended. For roots, use coniferous spruce branches, and for branches - any breathable materials that are stretched over a frame prepared in advance. Pieris japanese in the Moscow region easily endures the winter without shelter.
Garden use
Beautiful shrub is widely used by landscape designers to decorate spaces. It is equally good in single landings or group. It is possible to plant dwarf and undersized forms along curbs, on alpine slides. The plant looks very harmoniously surrounded by related heather near artificial reservoirs, in Japanese gardens. As neighbors, pick up lush hydrangeas, azaleas, trilliums.
For a small garden in the middle lane, one of the most striking plants will, of course, be Japanese pieris. Reviews of gardeners about him are mostly positive. The shrub has established itself as a frost-resistant plant that develops well and is undemanding in care. Pleased with the abundance of varieties and forms with a wide variety of leaves and flowers.
