Redvein enkianthus is a medium-sized, narrow, upright deciduous shrub from Japan, grown for its bell-shaped creamy flowers with red veins in spring and brilliant coppery to red autumn foliage. It does best in acid, moist but well-drained soil with some shelter from hot afternoon sun.
Family
Ericaceae (Heather family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep soil evenly moist, but never waterlogged.
Soil
Acidic, humus-rich, well-drained soil such as ericaceous compost.
Temperature
Hardy to about -20 °C; shelter from hot, drying winds in summer.
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Toxic: Like other Ericaceae, leaves, nectar and flowers may contain grayanotoxin-type compounds that can cause nausea, vomiting and other symptoms if eaten.
Native range
Japan
Climate
temperate
About
The hardiest of Enkianthus species is E. campanulatus (furin-tsutsuji or redvein enkianthus), a medium-sized, narrow, upright, deciduous shrub. Its bright green glossy foliage gives brilliant coppery to red fall colors. In spring it offers a profusion of bell-shaped (campanula, "little bell"), creamy white flowers with red veins, similar to those of the distantly related Pieris.
The plant was brought to England by Charles Maries, who was plant-hunting in Japan at the time for Veitch Nurseries. The shrub can exceed expectations of height under the right circumstances, as at William Robinson's Gravetye Manor, where a pair planted about the turn of the 20th century reached 15 ft (5 m).
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Enkianthus campanulatus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.