Pieris (Andromeda)
Common Name: Lily-of-the-valley-shrub
The Andromeda are of unusual charm because of both the foliage and flowers.
The most attractive one is Pieris japonica, commonly refered to as the the Japanese Andromeda. It has deep green, leathery foliage becoming reddish and bronzy in Winter.
The flowers are white, bell-shaped, produced in drooping terminal clusters (panicles or reduced to racemes) during April and May, a week earlier than the native sort to be mentioned below. The buds are formed in the Fall.
The Mountain Andromeda, Mountain Fetterbush – Pieris floribunda – is an American native growing from Virginia to Georgia.
It differs in having upright clusters of bloom, branches covered with stiff, straight hair.
(The branches of the foregoing sort are without hair.)
This variety of the Andromeda shrub is more widely adapted to American gardens than the Japanese variety.
The Japanese Andromeda could be forced as a pot plant to bloom before Christmas.
Using Andromeda in The Landscape
These shrubs are incomparable for an evergreen planting, especially as a foreground for taller Rhododendrons.
The arrangement of foliage and branching is all that could be desired.
Never overcrowd the plants; let them develop their characteristic graceful form. Partial shade suits them.
Soil For Pieris
Soil – Being members of the Heath family, they want an acid soil.
Sandy peat, well drained, or at least a loamy, loose soil is preferred. They, dislike lime and clay.
Problems & Objections
The only “objection” the the Andromeda shrub may have it that the flower buds of the Japanese variety can freeze in the coldest regions.
Propagation
In general, propagation is considered difficult.
- The Mountain Andromeda is collected from the wild and divided.
- Air-Layers are slow to develop, sometimes taking years
- Seed should be sown the same as for Azaleas, germinating in about two months.
- Cuttings from forced plants would root more readily. Some take cuttings in August and plant in greenhouse propagating beds.
The name Pieris originates from Pieria, a district of Macedonia, the home of the Muses.