For bees, enkianthus (“EN-key-AN-thus”) bushes now offer a late spring treat. From where I sit, bumblebees are the biggest fans, scrambling over the clusters or racemes of small, pendulous, flowers.

The descriptive “campanulatus” means bellflower-like. Call it “redvein Enkianthus” for short. The name comes from Greek (enkyos), meaning pregnant. Why?

This cousin of blueberries, rhododendrons and heathers is an upright, blue-green glossy-leaf plant. Lesser known than other deciduous bushes, it is misunderstood by many landscapers.

To be grown well, place it on the west side of a building or wall, not in front of windows. It should develop into a fairly narrow shape, 6-12, even to 15 feet high.

Where Maine’s moist (not wet) acidic soils are found, Enkianthus should thrive; best in good soil, best in sunshine, it goes well with mountain laurel and deciduous azaleas. In autumn, its foliage is brightly colored in afternoon light. To choose a plant, find it in a nursery in fall, when it’s at its most flamboyant.  

To trim to its natural shape, wait until the flowers (red, yellow or orange) have passed their May-June bloom. Anyone wishing to make more enkianthus saplings should let some blossoms go to fruit. The bush will produce dry capsules for such experimental seedings. Or one could nick the underside of a bottom branch and then weight it with soil and a rock to the ground. In time, the branch will set roots where the cut was made and it may be severed before potting up the growing end for a new plant. Call this process “layering.”

Landscape workers trained to other pruning systems doubt directions to trim to shape and tend to whack off the tops, not killing it but destroying the neat, upright habit of this shrub.

Whether or not you have or choose an enkianthus, now you know.