Scarlet O'Hara Pieris

Deep red new growth in spring, cascading white spring bells, and glossy evergreen leaves that hold the garden through winter.

Scarlet O'Hara Pieris (Pieris japonica 'Scarlett O'Hara') is a broadleaf evergreen shrub prized for two seasons of color on one plant. In early spring, drooping clusters of small, urn-shaped white flowers open along the branch tips like strings of tiny lanterns, while the emerging foliage flushes a striking bronze-red before maturing to deep, lustrous green. Reaching a substantial 6 to 10 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide with a moderate growth rate, it builds into an upright, well-clothed form that reads as refined and architectural rather than fussy. The evergreen leaves give structure all year, making it a dependable anchor for shaded and part-sun beds.

Why growers choose the Scarlet O'Hara Pieris

• Two-season color. Spring brings both cascading white blooms and fiery red new growth, so the show starts well before most shrubs wake up.
• Evergreen all year. Glossy, leathery foliage holds through winter, giving the garden bones when deciduous neighbors are bare.
• Cold-hardy and adaptable. Reliable in USDA zones 5 through 8, it shrugs off real winters while thriving in full to part sun.
• Deer tend to pass it by. Like other pieris, it is generally avoided by browsing deer, a real advantage in rural and wooded lots.
• Early nectar for pollinators. The spring bells are an early-season food source for bees emerging from winter.

Use it as a four-season foundation planting beneath windows, as a privacy-minded evergreen screen along a property line, or woven into a shaded mixed border alongside other acid-lovers like azaleas, rhododendrons, and camellias for a layered woodland look.