Landscape Pieris Advice

[MaxChavez]

Hi,
One of these "no day but today" craigslist deals. Owner had already dug up what he labeled a "boxwood." My feeling is that it's Pieris, but I'd welcome any other thoughts on that.
Also, I'm happy to hear any thoughts on how far to trim back and also whether to do any additional root work, or just keep everything I've got?
It is very large almost 5 ft diameter. I don't think it'll ever be a small tree, which is fine by me.

My thought at the moment is, do minimal root work, maybe cut a few thick roots if they seem to like fine roots coming off. Plant in a mix of potting soil and Pumice, with a touch of blueberry acid ammendment. Since it's all a crapshoot, I don't feel the need to break the bank with that qty of fancy soil!
Maybe cut all foliage back to semi-hardwood, 2 leaves or so? Or should I reset even further, even if it's old wood? First hand pruning experience highly appreciated!
@Calnicky did I read in a post that you had transferred a couple from landscape to pots? Any serious pruning?

Thanks all!

 

[coachspinks]

View attachment 536359Hi,
One of these "no day but today" craigslist deals. Owner had already dug up what he labeled a "boxwood." My feeling is that it's Pieris, but I'd welcome any other thoughts on that.
Also, I'm happy to hear any thoughts on how far to trim back and also whether to do any additional root work, or just keep everything I've got?
It is very large almost 5 ft diameter. I don't think it'll ever be a small tree, which is fine by me.

My thought at the moment is, do minimal root work, maybe cut a few thick roots if they seem to like fine roots coming off. Plant in a mix of potting soil and Pumice, with a touch of blueberry acid ammendment. Since it's all a crapshoot, I don't feel the need to break the bank with that qty of fancy soil!
Maybe cut all foliage back to semi-hardwood, 2 leaves or so? Or should I reset even further, even if it's old wood? First hand pruning experience highly appreciated!
@Calnicky did I read in a post that you had transferred a couple from landscape to pots? Any serious pruning?

Thanks all!

I agree with everything you have said. I have one in our landscape and it backbuds like crazy. It seems to be a very tough plant. One challenge is going to be keeping the tree from moving since it is so top heavy. that may be enough reason to take some off the top. Good luck!

 

[MaxChavez]

I agree with everything you have said. I have one in our landscape and it backbuds like crazy. It seems to be a very tough plant. One challenge is going to be keeping the tree from moving since it is so top heavy. that may be enough reason to take some off the top. Good luck!

Thanks for your thoughts. So, would you be comfortable taking the whole bush back to the red line? Or maybe not quite that aggressive and leave 2 leaves on most branches?

 

[WNC Bonsai]

My experience with these in the yard has been mixed. If you get a good variety and it likes the spot you planted it in then they can grow like crazy. However we had one that sulked and eventually committed suicide. I will be interested to see how yours does in pot culture.

 

[Betula1]

Theyre pretty tough and can take hard pruning. Might help to bag the top after pruning to encourage back -budding.
One note of caution, theyre very susceptible to Phytophthora ramorum (AKA Sudden Oak Death) so keep an eye out for symptoms if youre growing anywhere near infected stands of Oak Quercus and Tanoak Lithocarpus spp

 

[MaxChavez]

Any votes for taking the foliage back further vs leaving as-is for now?

 

[coachspinks]

Thanks for your thoughts. So, would you be comfortable taking the whole bush back to the red line? Or maybe not quite that aggressive and leave 2 leaves on most branches?View attachment 536401

Sorry for the delay. I saw in a later post that you have it in a pot and it seems stable. If that is the case, I'd leave the foliage alone for now.

 

[Calnicky]

View attachment 536359Hi,
One of these "no day but today" craigslist deals. Owner had already dug up what he labeled a "boxwood." My feeling is that it's Pieris, but I'd welcome any other thoughts on that.
Also, I'm happy to hear any thoughts on how far to trim back and also whether to do any additional root work, or just keep everything I've got?
It is very large almost 5 ft diameter. I don't think it'll ever be a small tree, which is fine by me.

My thought at the moment is, do minimal root work, maybe cut a few thick roots if they seem to like fine roots coming off. Plant in a mix of potting soil and Pumice, with a touch of blueberry acid ammendment. Since it's all a crapshoot, I don't feel the need to break the bank with that qty of fancy soil!
Maybe cut all foliage back to semi-hardwood, 2 leaves or so? Or should I reset even further, even if it's old wood? First hand pruning experience highly appreciated!
@Calnicky did I read in a post that you had transferred a couple from landscape to pots? Any serious pruning?I

Thanks all!

I dug two Pieris in spring 2022 from my yard where a shop was going to be built. They have both thrived. Both bloom like love-sick things. Beautiful scent. They went into Anderson flats with mostly pumice (maybe all pumice). This spring, I transferred one into a large bonsai pot (see photo @ "2024 Flowers"). Used Kanuma with Pumice (80%/20%). I have NOT pruned or wired heavily. I've got a few bits of wire on the one now in a bonsai pot. I may have repotted that one at the wrong time as it was just about to flower, but so far no issues. I'll wait to report the one still in an A flat until after flowering. Anyway, love the species for bonsai - and Ryan Neil says we should do more with Pieris.

 

[Calnicky]

Here's the landscape Pieris. I'm re-thinking what I said about not pruning heavily. I don't think I pruned heavily at collection but have since taken off some major branches, removed crossing branches and scaggly stuff. But I haven't cut back much foliage because not certain it back buds easily. It still needs a bit of styling.

 

[MaxChavez]

Here's the landscape Pieris. I'm re-thinking what I said about not pruning heavily. I don't think I pruned heavily at collection but have since taken off some major branches, removed crossing branches and scaggly stuff. But I haven't cut back much foliage because not certain it back buds easily. It still needs a bit of styling.

View attachment 537589

Thanks Nicky, looks very nice. I'm super interested to see how the cut backs go on my big one. Can't wait to see it in a real pot someday. Thanks for the details!

 

[Calnicky]

View attachment 536359Hi,
One of these "no day but today" craigslist deals. Owner had already dug up what he labeled a "boxwood." My feeling is that it's Pieris, but I'd welcome any other thoughts on that.
Also, I'm happy to hear any thoughts on how far to trim back and also whether to do any additional root work, or just keep everything I've got?
It is very large almost 5 ft diameter. I don't think it'll ever be a small tree, which is fine by me.

My thought at the moment is, do minimal root work, maybe cut a few thick roots if they seem to like fine roots coming off. Plant in a mix of potting soil and Pumice, with a touch of blueberry acid ammendment. Since it's all a crapshoot, I don't feel the need to break the bank with that qty of fancy soil!
Maybe cut all foliage back to semi-hardwood, 2 leaves or so? Or should I reset even further, even if it's old wood? First hand pruning experience highly appreciated!
@Calnicky did I read in a post that you had transferred a couple from landscape to pots? Any serious pruning?

Thanks all!

Sorry for the delay in answering: I think you have to go slowly on these. My two landscape Pieris are Okay, but maybe having a few too many yellowing leaves. One I repotted just before flowering, probably not so good, a second report from Anderson flat into a large ceramic bonsai pot. I didn't take off a whole lot of root. The other I plan to report mid-summer. But both have same amount of yellowing leaves. I did not realize that they should be in acidic soil when they first came out of the landscape and went into Anderson Flats, so the first has now been repotted into Kanuma and I'll follow that with the second one. Some leaves are dark green but too many are yellowing for my comfort. I hope this turns around soon. I haven't pruned either of them hard, really just removing spent flowers and maintenance pruning.

 

[MaxChavez]

Sorry for the delay in answering: I think you have to go slowly on these. My two landscape Pieris are Okay, but maybe having a few too many yellowing leaves. One I repotted just before flowering, probably not so good, a second report from Anderson flat into a large ceramic bonsai pot. I didn't take off a whole lot of root. The other I plan to report mid-summer. But both have same amount of yellowing leaves. I did not realize that they should be in acidic soil when they first came out of the landscape and went into Anderson Flats, so the first has now been repotted into Kanuma and I'll follow that with the second one. Some leaves are dark green but too many are yellowing for my comfort. I hope this turns around soon. I haven't pruned either of them hard, really just removing spent flowers and maintenance pruning.

Thanks for sharing! I did happen to catch the part about acidic soil, so mine has been recovering in 50percent pumice/50 percent organic soil with some blueberry acidifyer. (Also because it had already been dug out of my control, so I was worried about roots drying out)
I haven't really had any back budding but have had some new growth from last year's foliage.
At some point next year, it's going to have to be cut back- I guess I have almost a year to decide how aggressive to be!

If anyone has any Pieris thoughts or experience, feel free to share, thanks!

 

[MaxChavez]

Actually, upon closer inspection in the sun, just noticed some buds on pretty old wood. Very exciting!

 

[MaxChavez]

Prolific back budding on the transplanted pieris. All over the old wood. Can't wait to consider design options now!