Plant your Pieris japonica ‘Passion’, as soon as possible after delivery, in a pot or in the garden. Choose a pot with holes in the base to provide adequate drainage. Cover the bottom of the pot with broken crocks or a layer of gravel. Use fresh potting compost and plant the Pieris root ball at the right depth. Fill the pot with compost and press firmly. Water generously and place the pot in full sun or partial shade. Line a porous pot on the inside with plastic, or use an inner pot of plastic material. This will prevent evaporation and stop the soil drying out too quickly. For planting in the garden prepare a large hole and loosen the soil. Place the root ball at the right depth, the top of the root ball should be just below ground level. Refill the planting hole with soil and press firmly. Water immediately after planting. Pieris japonica ‘Passion’ grows well in slightly acidic soil, moist and well-drained or ericaceous compost. Improve the soil by adding compost. Plant in a sheltered spot.

Pieris japonica ‘Passion’® in the garden

Because of the rich flowering and the wintergreen leaves the Pieris japonica ‘Passion’ is an excellent pot plant for your autumn and winter garden. Handsome in combination with other wintergreen plants, like Viburnum tinus ‘Gwenllian’ and Leucothoe ‘Scarletta’. This slow grower also looks stunning in the garden planted close to a Rhododendron. This Pieris grows to 50 to 80 cm high and remains compact. A real eye-catcher in the border!

Water your Pieris japonica ‘Passion’ regularly, so that the soil doesn't dry out. For a good growth and an extra rich flowering we recommend you regularly add plant food to the irrigation water. Protect this evergreen bush from severe frost with a horticultural fleece or reed matting. Although pruning is not necessary, any dead branches and crossing branches can be removed after the flowering period.

Pruning Pieris japonica

It's not necessary to prune this shrub but you can if you like. Keep in mind that this is a slow growing shrub.
Frost damaged and dead branches can be cut hard back in March. You can remove any crossing branches entirely, immediately after flowering.
 

The beautiful small fresh pink flowers of the Pieris japonica ‘Passion’ are in racemes. The topside of each of the small flowers is white. After flowering, new leaves appear at the end of the branches. These young leaves are coloured red and later gradually turn green and are fairly leathery. In the autumn you can enjoy the dark shaded flower buds. The leaves remain on the shrub all year long. All in all, a bush that has a lot of ornamental value all year round. Pieris is related to the heather and is also known as Japanese Pieris and Lily-of-the-Valley.