I wanted to post two pictures I took today of Pieris 'Valley Valentine', a very young plant only about 2 feet high, which I have had for 2 years and which I thought was not going to survive last year... it was purchased as quite a small starter plant. It started to sprout some new leaves last summer, then this late Fall started on the budding... now look at the new blooms! This should be spectacular when it is more grown-up. What a nice plant. I know Pieris is a frequently seen plant around here in the Pacific Northwest but this one is going to be a beauty.
Beautiful! I love the pink ones. I like the way the flowers make little waterfalls! My white ones are not ready to flower yet, but we are in Vancouver, not Saanich. I love going over to the Island...it is always a bit warmer and dryer where my son lives in Oak Bay.
Survives colder climates than here, have never seen winter damage of any consequence. I once had a spontaneous seedling appear, reach flowering size. Unlike the parent plant it produced erect inflorescences, like those of 'Karenoma' - a cultivar which has been wrongly offered under P. floribunda, presumably because of this floral orientation - despite the plant not otherwise looking like that species at all.
Fascinating, Ron! I looked up 'Karenoma' and saw what you mean by the erect inflorescences... I only had time to look at the website which popped up first on Google -- http://www.we-du.com/detail.php?plant=shrpierhybkarenoma for that photo... On that site they have given the nomenclature Pieris japonica x floribunda 'Karenoma'. I will have to look at the different species of Pieris and become more familiar with them... looking forward to it. Have you ever offered to give some of us a tour of nurseries and gardens in your region of the Pacific Northwest? It could get quite specific re details of some of the major plants in our regional gardens and their different forms. Organizing a tour would be kind of fun... if anyone had the time, if you had the time... another thought would be to put out in this forum a list of the best botanical or show gardens and nurseries.
>Have you ever offered to give some of us a tour of nurseries and gardens in your region of the Pacific Northwest?< I could that, it should be discussed via private e-mails. There is also Arthur Lee Jacobson, he does that kind of thing as well. His site is a .com, but contains useful free information (articles etc.) of academic level quality. http://www.arthurleej.com/about-arthur.html
