azaleas

[Eric Muehlbauer]

Here are some of my summer blooming azaleas. The first is a seedling that I made, blooming for the first time....the parentage is Summer Lyric x (prunifolium x serrulatum). The pod parent is prunifolium x arborescens, so I while both parents were pink, I was hoping that the double dose of prunifolium would bring out some orange. However, while pink, its superior to both parents, and even has some fragrance, something neither parent had...probably from the arborescens grandparent. The 2nd photo is my oldest prunifolium...had it maybe 15 years...actually more. Its at peak bloom now, although it blooms from mid-July to mid-august. Take care, Eric

 

[Heather]

I love the prunifolium! I'm not sure if it is the same species as we have at work but I love the flame azaleas! I never knew azaleas bloomed so late in the summer until I worked at the garden. It's really exciting, actually (and makes me hate those awful purple spring ones that are pruned to death even more!)

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

It think the cross is lovely - such a delicate pink that is rather rare in deciduous azaleas. Nice looking prunifolium as well. That is a species I must get some seeds of since they should grow really well here in southern Japan. My favorite is bakeri (AKA cumberlandense), especially the blood red forms. Summer azaleas are a gas!

Heather, don't go running down those spring flowering evergreens. Many of them were developed from Japanese natives and they are truly amazing to see in nature or in a good garden (as opposed to a hedge in front of McDonalds).

Thanks for the shots Eric!

Tom

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

There are several summer blooming azaleas. Heather, you're plant is calendulaceum, which blooms in June...or it could be cumberlandense(bakeri) which also blooms in June. Supposedly cumberlandense is the diploid ancestor of calendulaceum, a tetraploid. viscosum is white, somoetimes pink...blooms June-July, depending on the clone. Same for arborescens. Prunifolium is a species native to Georgia, red to orange, blooms July-August. Latest is serrulatum (regarded as a form of viscosum by some), which blooms late July through August, into September...mine as bloomed as late as October. There are a whole series of summer blooming azaleas based on these species. Most are in the pink range...take care, Eric