Japanese name: ベニドウダン（紅燈台） Scientific name:Enkianthus cernuus f. rubens
[Overview]
A deciduous shrub 1–3 m tall, found on rocky sites in the mountains.
The leaves are simple and alternate, clustered at the branch tips, obovate, 1.5–3 cm long and 0.7–1.5 cm wide.
The leaf margin has fine serrations whose tips become hairs.
A short raceme 3–4 cm long at the branch tip bears 5–8 vermilion flowers that open downward.
The corolla is broadly bell-shaped, 0.3–0.6 cm long, and the tip is finely and unevenly split.
The fruit is a capsule borne upright.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained site.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long sunny spell and the soil dries out.
If the plant runs short of water from early summer to summer, when the flower buds form, it may not flower the following year, so take special care against drying at this time.
Apply slow-release fertilizer around the base of the plant twice, in spring and autumn.
Do not prune; grow it in its natural form.
Pests include scale insects and spider mites.
