Fire on the Mountain
‘Mountain Fire’ Japanese Andromeda, a cultivar of Pieris japonica, is a standout shrub in our garden. It’s a broadleaved evergreen so we can enjoy it year around but it’s especially nice right now as the new foliage emerges. It’s those bright red new leaves that give the cultivar its name. It’s the small shrub in the foreground of the photo above.
Back on March 6 we hadn’t yet cut back last year’s perennial stems, so ‘Mountain Fire’, with its golden foliage, stands out among all the brown of late winter.
Twenty days later, on March 26, our little shrub stands as a golden sentinel in the garden at dusk.
Last weekend ‘Mountain Fire’ had really come into its own as the new foliage began to grow. Eventually this shrub could top out at up to 8 feet tall, but it takes years for this slow grower to get that big. We had a different cultivar in our previous garden that eventually got to about 8 feet in 20 years.
The new foliage will remain red for a month or so before reverting to yellow-green for the rest of the year.
No matter which side I view it from, I’m a fan of ‘Mountain Fire’ Japanese Andromeda.