Pieris Flaming Silver - Lily-of-the-Valley Shrub
Overview
The Pieris Flaming Silver is a truly spectacular variegated evergreen shrub that delivers exceptional year-round beauty with minimal maintenance. This cheerful evergreen produces the same eye-catching bright red young growths in late spring but also has the benefit of silvery-white edging to the leaves as they mature. Known for its vibrant red new growth, which transitions to variegated leaves with a silver-white margin and green centre, the contrast between the new and mature foliage creates a stunning visual effect that makes this one of the most distinctive Pieris varieties available.
Distinctive Features
Dramatic Foliage Transformation: Young foliage emerges bright red, becoming green and boldly margined with silvery-white as it matures, creating exceptional year-round colour contrast.
Variegated Evergreen Leaves: Small green leaves with distinctive white/silver margins provide permanent structure and colour, even during winter months when most plants are dormant.
Delicate Spring Flowers: Small creamy-white bell-shaped flowers appear in branching clusters in spring, hanging low and attractive from the branches in dense, drooping panicles.
Compact Growth Habit: A small, erect evergreen shrub with dense multi-stemmed, upright spreading growth habit, typically reaching 1.5 metres tall in 10 years with similar width.
Slow, Manageable Growth: Average growth rate of 15-30cm per year, reaching full size in approximately 5-10 years, making it perfect for controlled garden situations.
Growing Conditions
Aspect: Grows well with mostly sun to mostly shade, though performs best with some protection from harsh afternoon sun to prevent leaf scorch on the delicate variegated foliage.
Soil Requirements: Thrives in acidic, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil (pH 4.5-6.0). Requires similar conditions to rhododendrons and camellias, preferring cool, wooded conditions.
Hardiness: Fully hardy in most UK locations (RHS H5), suitable for growing in hardiness zones 5-8. Benefits from shelter from cold winds and late frosts.
Water Needs: Requires consistent moisture throughout the growing season, particularly during dry spells. Intolerant of drought conditions but equally dislikes waterlogged soils.
Planting and Care
Planting: Best planted in spring or early autumn in a sheltered position. Plant at the same depth as in the container, ensuring the root ball isn't buried too deeply.
Soil Preparation: Incorporate plenty of acidic organic matter such as leaf mould, pine needles, or ericaceous compost to create the cool, humus-rich conditions this plant requires.
Feeding: Apply an ericaceous fertiliser in early spring to maintain soil acidity and provide essential nutrients. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilisers which can reduce flower production.
Pruning: Requires minimal pruning. Deadhead spent flowers immediately after blooming to maintain appearance and energy for foliage development. Remove any damaged or wayward growth in late spring.
Mulching: Apply a 5-7cm layer of acidic organic mulch annually, such as bark chips or leaf mould, to retain moisture, suppress weeds, and maintain soil acidity.
Garden Uses
Specimen Planting: Outstanding as a feature plant where the dramatic foliage colour changes can be fully appreciated throughout the seasons.
Woodland Gardens: Perfect for naturalised plantings in woodland settings or beneath established trees where the dappled shade suits its requirements.
Mixed Borders: Excellent for acid-loving plant borders alongside rhododendrons, camellias, and azaleas, providing year-round structure and seasonal interest.
Container Growing: Suitable for large containers using ericaceous compost, making it accessible for patios and terraces where garden soil isn't suitable.
Foundation Planting: Ideal for planting near house foundations where its compact size and year-round appeal create lasting impact without overgrowth concerns.
Companion Plants
Perfect alongside other acid-loving plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, and heathers. The silver-edged foliage complements blue-flowered plants like hydrangeas or provides striking contrast with dark green conifers. Underplant with spring bulbs like bluebells for extended seasonal interest.
Seasonal Interest
Spring: Bright red new growth emerges alongside clusters of pretty white, nodding bell-shaped flowers, creating spectacular early season displays.
Summer: Mature variegated foliage with silver-white margins provides cooling colour effects and attractive structure throughout the warmest months.
Autumn: The evergreen foliage maintains its variegated appearance whilst many surrounding plants lose their leaves, ensuring continued garden appeal.
Winter: Silver-edged leaves provide essential winter colour and structure, often taking on subtle bronze tints in cold weather.
Wildlife Value
Pollinator Support: Spring flowers attract bees and other early pollinators, making it an excellent addition to wildlife and pollinator gardens.
Year-Round Shelter: Dense evergreen growth provides shelter for small birds and beneficial insects throughout the year.
Maintenance Tips
Soil Acidity: Test soil pH annually and adjust with sulphur or ericaceous compost if necessary to maintain the acidic conditions essential for healthy growth.
Watering: Install soaker hoses or drip irrigation for consistent moisture delivery, as drought stress can cause leaf scorch and reduced vigour.
Wind Protection: Provide shelter from cold winds which can damage the delicate foliage, particularly the new red growth in spring.
Safety Considerations
Toxicity Warning: All parts of the plant are harmful if eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling, and keep away from children and pets.
Why Choose Pieris Flaming Silver?
This exceptional evergreen shrub offers outstanding value with its unique combination of dramatic foliage colour changes, attractive spring flowers, and year-round structure. The spectacular contrast between fiery red new growth and silver-edged mature leaves creates garden interest that few other plants can match. Its compact, manageable size combined with slow growth makes it perfect for modern gardens where space is limited but impact is essential. For gardeners seeking a truly distinctive, low-maintenance evergreen that provides four seasons of beauty, Pieris Flaming Silver delivers exceptional performance with reliable, easy-care requirements.
Buying Shrubs from Jacksons Nurseries
At Jacksons Nurseries we sell a variety of shrubs both evergreen and deciduous with a variety of flowering times throughout the year. At certain times of the year our shrubs you buy from us may not look like the images shown on our website when deciduous leaves have fallen, the shrub has finished flowering or has been trimmed back.
Some leaves on evergreen shrubs can be damaged in winter by frost or harsh winds but in spring new leaves will readily replace those damaged. This is quite normal on many evergreen varieties and is preferable to plants grown with excessive protection that show cold shock once planted out and establish less satisfactory initially.
Availability: Stock availability figures are provided as a guide only. There is a delay between orders being placed and the plants being gathered by our pulling team. During this time it may be possible for a member of the public to purchase these plants from our Garden Centre, while this is rare it is a possibility and we will notify you of any problems as soon as possible. This figure may also include plants that have not yet be flagged as unsaleable.
Pre-order: Pre-order times are given as a guide only and may vary dependent on the growing season. Orders containing Pre-ordered products will be shipped as a single order when all items become available. Large orders may be part shipped, please contact us on 01782 502741 or email sales@jacksonsnurseries.co.uk.
* Please Note: Shrubs in 20 litre pots and above might require a pallet delivery starting at £79.99 per pallet. Depending on the exact pot size and height it may be possible to get approximately 5 plants per pallet at no extra cost. The maximum height we can dispatch on a pallet is 2.0m, this includes the height of the pallet and pot.
Shrubs are deciduous or evergreen woody plants, and often provide fragrant flowers, berries and foliage. They are good for structural framework, and they can provide a wonderful shelter and food source for wildlife.
Planting and Conditions
Container grown shrubs can be grown at any time of year. It is a little known fact that shrubs planted in the autumn and winter will be easier to look after than those planted in the spring and summer, because they will have time to establish and become hardy in the cooler months.
Plant the shrub at the same depth as it was in its original pot. Planting too deeply can result in root and stem rot.
One of the biggest causes of death in new shrubs is drought stress, so keep it well watered until it’s established.
Make sure you loosen the soil prior to planting. Most shrubs are tolerant of most soil types as long as it is fairly well draining.
Most shrubs will grow happily in containers, but they will be much more demanding on feeding and watering than shrubs in the ground would be. They will also need potting on every couple of years so that they don’t suffocate or become stunted in their pot.
Aftercare and Pruning
Once established, shrubs generally do not require much water. However, at first they need careful, frequent watering and should not be left to dry out.
Shrubs in the ground are generally not demanding and in most cases, annual feeding with general purpose fertilizer will suffice. Shrubs in containers may need more feeding; usually from early spring until late summer.
Shrubs also benefit from mulching in order to supress weeds, conserve moisture and provide vital nutrients. Mulch also greatly improves soil conditions. Shrubs can be mulched in late winter, after fertiliser has been applied, but it can be mulched through autumn to late spring as long as the ground is damp.
All shrubs benefit from dead-heading once spent flowers become apparent. Rhododendrons and Lilac especially benefit from the removal of dead flowers.
Some shrubs may show signs of reverted growth or ‘sporting’. This is where random shoots of different leaves associated with the plant’s parentage begin to appear. Most commonly this is where plants with variegated leaves sprout pure green growths instead of variegated ones.
To control reversion, remove reverted shoots promptly to discourage them. Reverted shoots are usually much more vigorous than the variegated ones, and thus should be completely pruned out and cut back into wood containing variegated foliage.
Potential Issues
Although shrubs are usually very robust garden plants, they can sometimes start to decline with no apparent or obvious reason.
This will start with browning leaves, which could indicate plant stress due to lack of water or waterlogging, an establishment failure or, in the worst case scenario, honey fungus. Another cause of leaf browning is a high salt content in the soil. This could be a natural occurrence, especially if you live near the ocean, or it could be from over fertilisation.
To remedy a high salt content, cut back on fertiliser and step up your watering regime for the next few weeks. If you live by the ocean, this will be harder to remedy—but stepping up your watering will help to wash some of the salt away all the same.
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