Quick Guide: spring, hardy, full sun, height: 2.4m/8ft, width: 1.5m/5ft

Enkianthus campanulatus is a native of Japan and is prized for its foliage - dull green in spring and summer, vivid scarlet in autumn. Its abundant bell-shaped flowers are creamy-yellow, tipped and veined rose-pink. There are no named varieties.

GROWING Plant in autumn or spring in acid or neutral soil. Peat or leaf-mould should be added to ordinary lime-free soils. A sunny sheltered position, as in light woodland, is preferred. Pruning is generally unnecessary, but leggy overgrown species may be cut back hard in late winter.

PROPAGATION Take 7.5cm/3in heeled cuttings of lateral shoots in late summer and insert in a peat and sand mixture in a cold frame. Transfer the rooted cuttings to a nursery bed in spring to grow on for 2-3 years before planting them out in their permanent positions.

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS Generally trouble-free.