Enkianthus campanulatus Pagoda

The 'Enkianthus campanulatus 'Pagode' is a variety of Campanulate Andromeda with narrower and longer flowers, white with broad pink and carmine edges. This rare ericaceous bush is highly ornamental and deserves to be planted in isolation or in a pot in a small garden where its tall habit with erect branches dividing into whorls to form regular tiers covered with small, light, ovate, dark green and gently undulate foliage can be easily admired. This unique cover shelters delicate flowering in drooping clusters of campanulate, fragrant pinkish-red flowers from April to May, which also has the advantage of attracting pollinators to the garden. In autumn, its foliage turns orange-red before falling to the ground. The campanulate enkianthus is an exceptionally hardy species that thrive easily in partial shade or shade, in the company of rhododendrons and azaleas, in acidic, moist, and even poor soil.

Native to Japan and southern China, the Enkianthus campanulatus belongs to the Ericaceae family, just like heathers and Pieris, to which it bears some resemblance. It is a deciduous bush of cool and humus-rich undergrowth, perfectly hardy but intolerant to limestone and dry soils.

The 'Pagoda' cultivar is distinguished from the type mainly by its narrower and elongated flowers, white with pink and carmine edges. This slow-growing bush will reach, on average, 2m (7ft) in height and 1.5m (5ft) in width after many years. Its habit is unique, open and erect, almost columnar, bushy and composed of regularly tiered branches. The original flowering is one of the major assets of this plant. Depending on the climate, it appears for at least three weeks from April to June. The flowers are borne on short branches located at the ends of the branches, just below the foliage. The flowers, about 1.2 cm (1in) in diameter, slightly fragrant, pendulous, and bell-shaped, are suspended on slightly raspberry-tinted, downy peduncles and gathered in dense clusters of 12 to 15. Their colour is white with pink and red edges. The flowering is melliferous and nectariferous. The deciduous foliage is composed of small, finely dentate leaves, 3 to 5 cm (1 to 2in) long and 2 cm (1in) wide. They appear to be arranged in tiers at the ends of the branches and have a dark green, shiny colour from spring to summer. The undersides of the leaves are tinged with red along the veins. The autumn colours, orange-red, are very bright.

This is a choice bush for spaces with little light. The tiered and erect habit of the campanulate andromeda is exceptionally refined in a pot on a patio or in isolation in a small garden. It is one of the few deciduous heath bushes, so if you have more space, plant it in ericaceous soil under a grove of Japanese maples, accompanied by evergreen azaleas and camellias, and shade-loving perennials such as hostas, Solomon's seals, ferns, Epimedium and Caucasian forget-me-nots.