I have pieris in various places on my property. All planted at the same time about 7-8 years ago. The couple that I have in almost full shade are growing larger than any others, however I don't see too many flowers. I have some in full sun that do get some red growth but they are very slow growing and also don't flower much. There is a house not far from me that has 2 pieris growing in blazing sun on each side of their front door. They grow beautifully. Nice red new growth every year and profuse blooming. I just can't figure out pieris. It seems that if you happen to find just the right spot it will be magnificent but if not they may limp along to a certain extent. Have you also checked out Kalmia? I like this shrub much more than pieris. Between the buds and flowers they put on a great show. 2 pics of Pieris in heavy shade. Both always have good new growth and are over 3' high, but they never flower very much at all. This is pieris growing in full sun. Nice new red growth, but slower growing (about 1/3 the size of the 2 above) and again barely any flowering. It is the same variety as the 2 in the above photos (not sure which variety though). This is a Kalmia. Took a hard hit over the winter with a bad ice storm we had, but it will recover nicely. For evergreen and flowering I definitely prefer Kalmia over Pieris. I don't have a pic handy of the Kalmia in bud or flower. Hope that helps a little bit. I also have zone envy for Nandina!

I also have the Pieris Mountain Fire -- Now thinking back I had to determine where and what exact micro climate , was going to make this fussy plant happy for lack of a better term. Anyway,I north facing partial shaded spot That's where the trouble began with a bit too much sun. The foliage gradually turned a yellowish green from a meduim green. It still gave me color in fall but there's something just not right. Growth became so slow and this last winter just made it look like it's bailing. Then I read about low iron can influence color. Wondering if this thing is suffering from low iron. Here's what I'm trying: I 've transplanted it close to a shadier place along the same fence but under a Spartan Juniper. I've found Plant Prod water soluable Chelated Iron at a local building store. I'm giving this a dose now and seeing if things green up. If they do there's a good chance all other values will improve Worth a try ... This is my prognosis

no- and once you go down there you'll understand why that question is almost laughable. they are run by good old country boy southerners who've probably not met computers, let alone websites. :) there's like 2 people in each nursery speak english and the rest are hispanic help. coy broadwell owns broadwell's, and his nephew owns old stage. they are competitors, but not so much in spirit. broadwell's is a bit cheaper, with more common things, and old stage has more of the trendier stuff. i always ck broadwell's first and if they don't carry it, ck old stage. the trick is asking the one guy/lady who speaks english (and who'll have the money in hand) where to go in the fields to get what you want. last i was down, it was strictly cash or check only. jimtnc wasn't kidding when he said it's mayhem. but it's worth the trip- it's just a lot different than what you're used to thinking of for nurseries. they are wholesale, used by the trade, though they are open for retail as well. it's just that they're more geared for wholesale. they are both closed on sundays, and open sat morns, weekdays til 5 or so in winter and i think 6 in summer but don't quote me on that.

Does it need to be evergreen or can it be deciduous? Blooms? What size are you wanting - smaller than the 5x5 pieris or same? So, it does get 4-5 hours of morning sun?