Question
Variegated Pieris zone
I bought and planted a variegated pieris 5/17/09 according to instructions. It gets early morning sun x2-3 hours and late afternoon sun x 2-4 hours. It is not doing well and I'm wondering what the problem is. I have watered it diligently thinking that may be the problem, and maybe it needs more. Please help.
AnswerHello Kimberley
Thank you for your question.
The first thing you need to do is check your soil type. Pieris absolutely need an acid soil! You can get a soil testing kit from your local garden center or other plant outlet. If your soil is limey (alkaline) then I'm afraid your plant wont thrive - in fact it will die. You could plant in a container with an ericaceous compost (lime-free) and only use rain water to water it - the tap water will probably contain lime in some form.
If your soil turns out to be acid, it may be that you are watering the plant too much - only water if the weather has been very dry for more that 3-4 days.
