Enkianthus campanulatus Red Bells

Enkianthus campanulatus Red Bells is a beautiful variety with deeply red-tinted flowers that are larger than the species. This picturesque bush offers shiny small bell-shaped flowers with red raspberry edges, veins, and stripes on a light pink to white background, in spring. They are in pendant clusters with lovely bright and glossy green foliage at the end of the branches. Before falling, the foliage takes on beautiful yellow to orange autumn colours. The campanulate Enkianthus thrives in partial shade or shade, in the company of rhododendrons and azaleas, in acidic, moist, and humus-rich soil.

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

The 'Red Bells' cultivar mainly stands out from the species for its flowers, which are more colourful and larger. This slow-growing bush will reach an average height of 2.50 m and a width of 1.50 m after many years. Its habit is unique, open and erect, almost columnar, bushy, and composed of regularly layered branches. The original flowering is one of the major assets of this plant. It appears from April to June depending on the climate, for at least 3 weeks. The flowers are borne on short stems at the end of the branches, just below the foliage. The flowers, 1.5 to 2 cm (0.6 to 0.8 in) in diameter and slightly fragrant, are pendant, bell-shaped, and hang from downy peduncles slightly tinted with raspberry, grouped in dense clusters of 12 to 15. They are raspberry pink with lighter stripes, forming a very pretty pattern. The flowering is nectar-rich.

The deciduous foliage consists of small leaves, finely toothed along the edges, 3 to 5 cm (1.2 to 2 in) long and 2 cm (0.8 in) wide. They appear to be arranged in tiers at the ends of the branches, and are bright green from spring to summer. The undersides of the leaves are tinged with red along the veins. The yellow-orange autumn colours are very bright.

Enkianthus campanulatus requires acidic soil and should be planted in ericaceous soil, with Rhododendron, Camellia, Pieris, Kalmia, azaleas, and other heath plants in beautiful combinations in the semi-shaded areas of the garden. It has good hardiness and is not difficult to grow if the conditions are met. Plant it in large shrub beds, in the undergrowth, in a copse, or a slightly wild thicket. Its moderate growth is well suited to small gardens as well as terraces, planted in a large container, always in non-limestone soil.