Companions for Pieris?

robin 435

Hello
I have a small flower bed in my lawn which contains a couple of Pieris Forest Flame which are about 2.5 feet high. I'd like to extend the bed and add a couple more small bushes.
Could someone suggest some evergreen bushes of a similar size that would look good alonside the Pieris?
Thanks for your advice
Robin 

Fairygirl

Hi @robin 435. The problem is, Pieris can get very big, given the right conditions, so you need to be careful what you plant nearby. They'll eventually get swamped by the Pieris otherwise. It's often better just to use some annuals/perennials which can be moved at a later date:)
Just how big is the border?

robin 435

Thanks for your reply
We've had these pieris for around 20 years and through pruning have kept them under 3ft, but they still look great. The bed is about 6ft square, so not too big. I suppose I could just buy a couple more pieris of a different variety, but just wondered if there was a similar evergreen bush.
I'm panic buying plants and compost before we get locked in our gardens ;-)

valerieroberts

If you like a-bright yellow evergreen perfumed shrub consider choysia ternate sundance, common name Mexican orange blossom I think. Valerie 

Fairygirl

Fair enough @robin 435
It's not a big area then. Perhaps something columnar, like yew would work. There's also a columnar Berberis, a red foliaged one, although that isn't evergreen.
One of those and perhaps some lower growing ground cover plants might be better. It would give a more varied, 'triangular' look.
You could add spring bulbs within that to give a succession of planting. All very low maintenance too, if you want to keep it simple. 

For the ground cover - there are loads of plants which would suit, from hardy geraniums to things like Pachysandra [ which is evergreen, with small white flowers ] and Hellebores - lots of choices with them too. 

LToby

If you like a contrasting colours during Winter, you might consider to plant Cornus alba sibirica (red-stem dogwood) or Cornus alba kesselringii (dark-purple-stem dogwood). 

Both are lovely shrubs and they will bloom in mid Spring to early Summer (however, depending on the climate in your location; Kesselringii has a lovely foliage that transforms its colours from season to season, on this site you can see different features of the plant in every season --  https://www.ornamental-trees.co.uk/cornus-alba-kesselringii-p957 - i love and enjoy this plant a lot.

while Sibirica turns its foliage into bright red in Autumn.
https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/cornus-alba-sibirica/

Because they are both deciduous during Winter, you can plant bulbs or grass around them to contrast the colours of their twigs during the dark days of Winter. They will complement with your Pieris. Like the way you control on your Pieris' spread/growth, you can do the same with both plants. Some gardeners cut them drastically to the ground to encourage new twigs, I don't - i just trim them, mulch them and continue shaping them as I like their colours all year round ...

Enjoy and best of luck on your search of a matching plant for your bed.

Borderline

I suspect the soil may be quite dry if your shrub has been there for a while. How about something like Skimmia, they should be able to cope with the shaded position. They don't grow too big and grow quite slowly. I would also look at some of the smaller Sarcococca shrubs too.

robin 435

Thank you for your replies, they've given me lots of good ideas 😊