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Pieris
Also called Garden Whites
Pieris is a genus of about seven evergreen shrubs grown for bright red spring new growth and chains of white or pink bell-shaped flowers. Grow them in shade, sheltered from drying winter winds, in acidic soil.
Pieris ( or ) is a genus of seven species of shrubs in the flowering plant family Ericaceae, native to mountain regions of eastern and southern Asia, eastern North America and Cuba. Known commonly in North America as andromedas or fetterbushes, they are broad-leaved evergreen shrubs growing to 1–6 metres (3–20 ft) tall and 0.9–3.0 m (3–10 ft) wide. The leaves are spirally arranged, often appearing to be in whorls at the end of each shoot with bare stretches of shoot below; they are lanceolate-ovate, 2–10 cm (1–4 in) long and 1.0–3.5 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄2 in) broad, leathery textured, and with an entire or serrated margin. The young leaves in spring are typically brightly coloured. The flowers, which may have a very appealing honey scent, are bell-shaped, 5–15 mm (3⁄16–9⁄16 in) long, white or pink, and arranged in racemes 5–12 cm (2–4+1⁄2 in) long.
They are commonly grown as ornamental plants, valued for year-round interest due to bright red new growth in early spring, chains of small, white flowers in mid-spring, and buds that remain on the plant through the winter. Numerous cultivars have been selected for different spring foliage colour. They grow best in a shady spot, sheltered from drying, winter winds. They prefer acidic soil, and should be mulched once per year, using a two-inch covering of either peat or composted pine needles. The flowers give the plant one of its alternative names, 'Lily of the valley shrub' (though Pieris is not closely related to Convallaria).
Pieris floribunda (mountain fetterbush) has been noted as highly toxic.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Pieris (plant) 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.
