Nature's color palette can be amazingly vibrant. We've carried negative associations with the preppie pink/green color combo since the '80s, but this bush made us rethink our prejudice.
There it was, just innocently sitting there in the Japanese Tea Garden this weekend, all decked out in cheeky greens, pinks, and whites, just asking to have its picture taken. It was almost shameless.
Anyone know what it is?
Rhododendron...?
Pieris japonica! Also called "lily of the valley bush" for the white flowers. Mine's foliage refuses to be pink, though, its green/bronze.
It might be bribed to go pink if I would move it to California though.
Yep, Pieris japaonica 'tis. Does well in any woodland setting. Also call Andromeda. Different selections offer different heights and spreads (but it's a medium shrub at best), and intensity of color. I have a lot of it planted under Japanese maples, and next to sweet Daphne and Camellia japonica. Looks lovely. Keep it out of hot afternoon sun. Great for most of SF.
i'm impressed!
Medium, Pat? Mine is 15' x 5' in Philadelphia. I guess that's not hyooge but for a shrub its a pretty good size.
Just mentioning that so any would-be owners are not startled by a mentally envisioned Chihuahua turning into a St. Benard. Some are dwarfs but you have to check.
Wow! I've never seen a 15' high PJ. I looked up the plant description, and it says 9'-12' (my measure of medium, but I don't live in the city, so yes I should have said large for SF). Was yours a seedling? Maybe you have a new selection on your hands! They tend to be smaller in cold climates, too. Maybe your hot, humid summers make up for the cold season.
I have shorter (dwarf?) selections here. They ranges in (promised) height from 4' to 8'. They are fairly slow-growing, and keep their shape without pruning, but can be lightly pruned to keep them in bounds for many years.
Very pretty. Does anyone know how to care for a pomegranate tree. The temperature in my garden rarely drops below -2C