Features of the plant, tips for home growing, recommendations for reproduction and transplantation, pest control and possible difficulties, types of pieris. Pieris (Pieris). This plant belongs to the Heather family (Ericaceae), which, according to some information, has from 7 to 10 varieties. It takes a shrub form and never changes the color of its foliage. Native habitats are considered to be North American territories, East Asian and forest areas of the Himalayas. The plant loves to be located on wooded mountain slopes, in the midst of bushes. But some species, such as flowering pieris, can take both a shrub form and be a ligneous liana that wraps around the trunks of deciduous conifers and can rise to a height of 10 m. The name of the plant was the nickname of the muses of ancient Greece - Pierides. These legendary creatures were the patrons of music, art and science, lived in the territory of ancient Macedonia, which was called Pieria at that time. The muse drew their inspiration from the magical spring of Pier.
The height of the pieris can vary from half a meter to 2 m, the growth rate is rather slow. The plant is very decorative due to the foliage, which, over the course of its growing season, can change color; when it appears, it can be bronze or reddish in color, but over time it will become a rich emerald color. The leaf plates are oval or elongated. The edge of the sheet can be either solid or serrated. At the top, the leaf plate has a sharpness, it is distinguished by a shiny wrinkled surface. The leaf blade can reach from 2 to 10 cm in length with a width of 1-3, 5 cm. Leaves grow in a spiral sequence or gather in bunches at the very top of the branch. Shoots at a young age can be painted in beautiful pink or red tones.
The beauty of the pieris flowers is also distinguished, which look like small bells or lily of the valley flowers that hang penetratingly from elongated brushes. The flowering process extends to the beginning and middle of spring, and is striking in abundance. The flowers are also white or red, rarely pinkish.
After flowering, pieris bears fruit in the form of a lignified box with 5 divisions, which can reach 6 cm. It contains numerous seeds.
Pieris prefers substrates with high acidity, since this species has pronounced symbiosis with representatives of fungi in the form of mycorrhiza - filamentous formations in the fungus entwine the roots of the plant with a dense network in the form of a cover. Naturally, mushrooms need acidic soil. Plants have the ability to absorb nutrients that are formed from the processing of organic matter by fungi, while fungi, in turn, receive nutrients from plants that they produce.
It should be noted that the plant is quite poisonous and can lead to a significant decrease in blood pressure in a person who has tasted the juice of the leaves or flowers of pieris, with subsequent disturbances in the body's activity up to death. Therefore, this must be taken into account in homes where there are small children or pets.
Tips and Tutorials for Home Care of Pieris
- Lighting. Pieris tolerates both bright lighting and sufficient shading. But the place where the pieris is located must be carefully protected from possible drafts. If the leaves of a plant are variegated in color, then it still needs sunlight, otherwise, over time, the foliage will acquire an emerald hue. But all the same, any of the varieties of pieris must be shaded from the bright scorching sunlight. In principle, any windows are suitable indoors for placing a pot with a plant on them, only light curtains or gauze curtains must be hung on the windows in the south direction.
- Content temperature. In the summer months, pieris prefers heat values not higher than 20 degrees, and with the arrival of cold weather, the temperature should not fall below 10. However, the Japanese pieris variety can even tolerate 20 degrees of frost, but young leaves and shoots of the plant may be affected. If the plant remains on the balcony for the winter, then it must be covered from low temperatures with a special heat-saving fabric or a frame insulation must be formed. But low temperatures are simply necessary for the dormant period of pieris, this will contribute to its further multiple and violent flowering.
- Humidity when caring for pieris. The plant prefers high or medium humidity in the room where it is located. Although there are opinions that pieris is not too sensitive to moisture in the air. But still, to maintain the necessary conditions, the plant must be regularly sprayed with soft cool water or placed vessels with water next to the pot. You can put the pot on a pallet, which is filled with small expanded clay or pebbles and water is poured into it. It is important that the bottom of the pot does not come into contact with the poured liquid. Also, in order to maintain the desired moisture content, the ground under the pieris is covered with sawdust or sphagnum moss, you can pour some sand on the surface.
- Watering. Pieris should be watered sparingly, making sure that the soil under the bush does not dry out completely, but is not flooded with water either. The plant does not at all tolerate the drying of an earthen coma in a pot or soil under a bush. If the plant grows in a pot, then it is necessary to water in the summer period 2-3 times a week, if the pieris grows in the open air, then watering is more scarce 1-2 times a week. In winter, watering is significantly reduced. For irrigation, soft water is used, which can be obtained by settling, filtering or boiling. Melt water or rainwater will do. You can soften and at the same time acidify water using peat soil - a handful of earth is placed in a gauze or linen bag, immersed in a bucket of water and left overnight. It is simply necessary to acidify water for a plant if pieris grows in a weakly acidic substrate. To do this, use vinegar, lemon juice or acid. It is necessary to acidify so that the acid in the water is practically not felt (for example, 1/3 teaspoon of citric acid is taken for 1 liter of water).
- Top dressing of pieris. The plant during the growing season (from early spring to late autumn) requires additional fertilizing, but it is necessary to choose those in which there are no admixtures of lime. This procedure is repeated every two weeks. If the plant has been transplanted, then fertilizing can be applied after 2 months. Top dressing with organic matter characterizes themselves best. For this, mullein or bird droppings are used, diluted in water in proportions of 1:10 and 1:30, respectively.
- Additional care for pieris. It is not recommended to loosen the soil under the pieris bush, since the roots of the plant are located close to the surface and can be easily damaged. In the spring, it is necessary to prune branches that are too elongated, it is advisable to do this before the plant begins to actively grow. This will make it possible to grow more young shoots and the formation of numerous buds on them. Although it is believed that pieris can be grown indoors, but with the arrival of warm days, it is recommended to expose it to fresh air, a balcony or terrace is completely suitable for this, but it is best to plant it in the ground in the garden. It is necessary to regularly cut off dried flowers and plant branches. The spring period is most suitable for acquiring a plant, and you need to choose a healthy, developed and fully formed bush.
- Choosing the soil and replanting pieris. Transplants are performed once every 2-3 years in pots with a large diameter and depth. Any substrate for heather plants is suitable for changing the soil; it must have a loose consistency and the ability to pass air and moisture well. The most important thing is that the soil has sufficient acidity. Its values should vary within the pH range of 3, 5–4, 5. If the soil mixture does not have such a reaction, then it must be regularly acidified with vinegar, citric acid or lemon juice.
A mixture for azaleas and rhododendrons, which has a pronounced acid reaction, may be suitable for transplanting, but you can also prepare the soil mixture yourself from the following components:
- high-moor peat, coarse sand, coniferous sawdust or coniferous bark (everything is taken in equal parts);
- peat, crushed bark, humus (all ingredients in equal parts).
Reproduction of pieris at home
Reproduction can be using cuttings and seed.
For cuttings, you can choose the branches of pieris cut after the planned pruning, but cuttings cut at the end of summer are best suited. The cuttings should be semi-lignified (not very young and not very old). The cuttings should be at least 10 cm in size and have 2-3 knots with leaves. Rooting takes place in a peat-sand mixture, the sand can be replaced with any other baking powder (for example, perlite). Before planting, the cuttings can be treated with a root growth stimulant. After the cuttings have released a sufficient number of roots, they are carefully transplanted into their permanent place of growth or into a pot with a substrate that is suitable for adult plants.
The seeds, so that they germinate, are sown superficially in containers filled with sour peat, which is mixed with sand (taken in equal parts). You can use a mixture of peat, coniferous soil and sand in a 2: 2: 1 ratio. After planting, the container is covered with a plastic bag or glass, to create the conditions for a mini-greenhouse (with constant high humidity and room temperature). The container with seeds is placed in good lighting, shading from the hot sun. Seedlings should be periodically ventilated and the soil in the container should be moistened. The first shoots appear after a month, and by the end of the month the rest of the seeds will sprout. Sprouted young pieris still need to be grown for 2-3 years, since the growth rate of this plant is rather slow. And only after this time they can be transplanted to a permanent place of growth or to separate pots. Young plants for the first winter must be carefully covered from frost with the paws of coniferous trees.
Pieris pests and problems in caring for him
The plant is considered quite resistant to all kinds of harmful insects, but nevertheless it is sometimes affected by spider mites. A sign of damage is a thin cobweb on the leaf plates and multiple whitish dots on the back of the leaf. The plant can be treated with a soapy or oil solution. For a soap solution, grated laundry soap (100 g) is used, which is dissolved in a bucket of water, this liquid is infused for several hours, and then filtered. After that, the damaged pieris can be processed. You can also wipe the leaf plates with an alcohol solution of calendula, which is sold in pharmacies. If these measures do not help, then the plant is sprayed with modern insecticidal pests.
The following problems can be distinguished when caring for pieris:
- drying and falling of leaf plates occurs with low air humidity and insufficient watering of the plant;
- yellowing of the leaves along the veins indicates chlorosis and low acidity of the soil, it must be slightly acidified by adding peat to the substrate or watering with iron chelate (10 grams are taken for 8-10 liters of water);
- if there is a defeat by fungal diseases, for example, late blight, then the leaves at the edges become brown, and there is no remedy for this;
- if spots appear on the stems and leaves, then this can also serve as a signal of a fungal disease, in this case the pieris is treated with fungicides.
Pieris species in home and garden cultivation
Most often, only two varieties of pieris are grown - beautiful and blooming.
- Pieris beautiful (Pieris formosa). It is the most common plant of this species. Flowering, however, occurs later than other varieties. It is grown mainly in outdoor gardens and is the most commonly cultivated variety "Wakehurst". It differs in shoots, which at a young age have a bright red hue, but over time they change it to pale pink, and even after that, to cream. In adulthood, the branches become emerald. The inflorescences are panicle-shaped and consist of white flowers.
- Blooming pieris (Pieris fluribunda). The plant is small in size, has a slow growth rate. The shrub branches quite well and can grow up to 2 m in height. The leaf plates reach 3 to 8 cm in length and never change their emerald hue. The surface of the sheet is matte, leathery, smooth. Flowers resemble white water lilies in shape. They can reach a length of 6 mm and grow on the tops of the shoots, gathering in dense branched brushes. It blooms during all spring months. It can withstand light frosts, grows well in the shade, but does not tolerate soil compaction and wind.
- Pieris Japanese (Pieris fluribunda). It is a shrub with upright branches that droop slightly at the tops. It can be up to 3 m in height. Inflorescences have a panicle drooping shape. Young leaf plates of a beautiful reddish color are located at the ends of the branches. Blossoming occurs with cream-colored flowers.
Many varieties of this species bloom with white or pinkish flowers, and the size does not differ in height. For example, varieties such as:
- "Forest Flame" can stretch to a height of 0.8–1 m and has young leaves in brown-red tones, does not tolerate a strong drop in temperature.
- "Splendens" reaches one and a half meters in height and is distinguished by brownish-red leaf plates.
- "Variegata" can grow up to a meter in height, has leaves in white-green tones and completely unsightly flowers.
- "Flaming Silver" reaches 1, 2 m in height, young leaves have a red tint, but with age they become, colored in a yellowish-white color along the edge of the leaf.
- "Red Mill" grows a little more than one and a half meters in height, is distinguished by brown-red foliage and nondescript flowers, a fairly frost-resistant plant.
- "Mountain Fire" plant is one and a half meters tall, foliage changes its color from brown-red to emerald.
- "Purity" is a low-growing shrub, which has a height of 40-60 cm, leafy plates of a light green color, flowering quite late.
How pieris looks like, see this video:
