Pieris

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Plant Characteristics
Origin: ?
Cultivation
Exposure: ?"?" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water: ?"?" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.
Scientific Names



Read about Pieris in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Pieris (a mythological name). Including Portuna. Ericaceae. Ornamental shrubs, grown chiefly for their handsome white flowers.

Evergreen or deciduous shrubs or rarely small trees: lvs. alternate, short-petioled, entire or serrulate: fls. in often panicled racemes or in axillary clusters forming terminal racemes; calyx-lobes valvate or distinct; corolla globose or urceolate, with 5 short lobes; stamens 10; anthers obtuse, with a pair of awns near the base or the filaments 2-toothed below the apex: caps, with 5 dehiscent valves; seeds linear-oblong, not winged, with membranaceous testa.—About 10 species in N. Amer. and in E. Asia south to the Himalayas. Often included under Andromeda. Closely allied to Lyonia, which is distinguished by its awnless anthers, and to Zenobia, which has the anthers 4-awned at the apex. The foliage of some species is said to be poisonous to cattle.

The pieris are handsome shrubs with medium-sized oval to lanceolate leaves and with rather small white flowers in large terminal panicles or in racemes. The evergreen P. floribunda and the deciduous P. mariana are hardy North and, like the other species, are valuable for the earliness of their flowers. The most beautiful are P. japonica and P. formosa; the first thrives still in Massachusetts in sheltered positions, but the flowers are usually winter-killed, while P. formosa can be grown only South. They are easily forced, and P. japonica especially may be recommended for this purpose; it makes a very handsome and graceful pot-plant for inside decoration with its slender racemes of pure white flowers hanging over the glossy bright green foliage. The species of Pieris, like other Ericaceae, grow well in a moderately moist well-drained and porous soil, but dislike limestone and heavy clay; a partly shaded situation suits them best. Propagation is by seeds treated like those of azalea or rhododendron ; also by layers, and the evergreen kinds by cuttings of almost ripened wood in August under glass, kept during the winter in a cool greenhouse. They root very slowly; cuttings taken from forced plants root more readily. CH


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