March: Pieris Japonica
ABOUT PIERIS JAPONICA, JAPANESE ANDROMEDA, LILY OF THE VALLEY SHRUB (THROUGHOUT THE GARDEN)
Botanical Name – Pieris japonica
With glossy dark green leaves and year-round foliage, Pieris japonica is attractive in any garden. You can enjoy these remarkable plants in several areas of the Seattle Japanese Garden. In Japan, this shrub is often planted in a mixed hedge. You will discover Pieris in the planting along the path by the teahouse garden mixed in with evergreen huckleberry and rhododendrons. On the east side of the garden, you can find single larger specimens as small trees just north of the old gate as well as a single variegated specimen just south of the old gate.
Pieris japonica grows slowly, reaching heights of 4 to 13 feet, depending on variety, and lives 40 years or more. Flower buds form in trailing tassels during late summer and add winter interest against the evergreen leaves. These plants are most striking in early spring when the dense clusters of tiny urn-shaped white or pink flowers open—much favored by bumblebees and hummingbirds. New leaves on the branch tips soon follow, appearing in flaming reds, bronze-oranges, or chartreuse. However, part of Pieris are poisonous if ingested!
This deer-resistant plant prefers lightly shaded areas in a temperate climate, protected from harsh winds and hot sun. Its shallow roots grow best in well-drained acidic soil as is common in our Pacific Northwest. Like rhododendrons, it requires only a light mulch and supplemental watering during the summer drought.
Pieris japonica is native to the hills of Japan and was often planted in tea gardens and near shrines and temples. Branches were used as alcove posts in tea rooms and wood was used for charcoal.
Pieris japonica was cultivated in early Buddhist gardens in Japan. Its fleeting beauty is described in a poem written at Nara, the capital of Japan in the late 8th Century, reminding us that all things are ephemeral (The Art of Japanese Gardens, Lorraine E. Kuck, 1940):