am a zealous advocate for
azaleas. No, I'm not referring to
the evergreen Southern Indica
or Encore hybrids that are
plastered across our Southern
landscapes from far-off lands.
While these prim and proper icons do
have their place in our gardens and
give classic character to stately Southern homes and antebellum mansions,
the ones I adore are our native deciduous forms. They are wild and rambunctious, and it is an absolute delight as a
plantsman to find these clouds of color
hovering above grassy Appalachian
balds or surviving in the roughest,
toughest scrub the coastal plain has to
offer.
The flowers are what really catch
your attention. When they do bloom,
these natives flaunt their funnel-shaped
flowers to say that there's a party in
the garden. Some of the more fragrant
forms will sweeten the air. And the
colors of the petals! It's as if you're
standing in front of a gelato stand trying to choose a flavor - white, pink,
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Carolina Gardener
red, orange, yellow or some
multi-scoop combination.
If you can't decide on one,
you may have to do what I do, and get
all of them.
Cynics may scoff that they only
bloom for a month or so and then
become green blobs until they drop
their leaves and are absorbed back
into the drab of winter. To that, I say
it's fine by me. We humans can't be
on go all the time, so why should we
expect all of the great plants we use
in our landscape to be? I'm sure that
once you include a few of these plants
in your landscape, you'll see why I love
them so much.
Florida Azalea
(Rhododendron austrinum)
Zones 7 to 9
Although the Florida azalea
(Rhododendron austrinum) is native
farther south in the Gulf Coast areas,
that doesn't preclude it from use in the
Carolinas. It's a stalwart in the garden
and isn't very fussy, which begs the
question of why it is so underused in
the landscape. The color of the incredibly fragrant flowers of this Southern
belle can range from light yellow to
nearly red in the wild, but in the trade
you'll probably find a narrower band
within that spectrum of warm yellow to
light orange. My parents have a young
one in their garden back in Tennessee,
and I eagerly await seeing it attain its
mature size of 8 to 10 feet.
Pinkshell Azalea
(Rhododendron vaseyi)
Zones 4 to 7
It's fun to think of the Blue Ridge
Parkway as a necklace, draped on the
shoulders of the mountains in western
North Carolina. In the spring, much of
its length is set with floral gems such
as Canadian columbine (Aquilegia
canadensis), dogwood (Cornus spp.)
and woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata). While these wildflowers are
fairly common, one of the rarest jewels
along its length is the pinkshell azalea
(Rhododendron vaseyi).
Found in only a few counties in
North Carolina, this native features
blushed pink petals. One of the first
things you'll notice about this deciduous azalea, when comparing it with
the other deciduous forms, is that the
flower has less of a tubular appearance
and opens in more of a funnel shape.
Pinkshell azalea must be sited in
a location where it can truly shine and
grow to its maximum height of 5 to 10
feet because performance diminishes in
the warmer climates of the Carolinas.
Rare jewels must be treated with respect.
Please acquire these plants from a
friend's garden or a nursery that propagates from stock plants to help protect
native populations.
Piedmont Azalea
(Rhododendron canescens)
Zones 5 to 9
The first time I was impressed
by this indigenous beauty, it wasn't
even in bloom. I was visiting a friend's
garden in Tennessee in midwinter
after a light snow when the buds of
the Piedmont azalea (Rhododendron
canescens) caught my eye. Tinged
pink and patterned with black, zigzag
lines, those buds jumped out against
the whitewashed background like the
pink Easter eggs my sister used to hide
on the white carpet in our living room.
When I visited again, two months
later, I found the treat they had held
inside. The buds had burst into bloom,
and now pinwheels of pink funnels
dotted the shrub. This 10-to-15 foot tall
plant will spread easily. Offshoots can
be separated from the main plant, and
that's how a few of this species made it
into my garden. In the Carolinas, these
plants will bloom in March on through
April. There are a few nice specimens
at Duke Gardens.
May 2013
27
Flame Azalea
(Rhododendron calendulaceum)
Zones S to 7
The flame azalea (Rhododendron
calendulaceum) has captured the attention of gardeners for centuries, and
the writings of William Bartram, famed
plant explorer of the southeastern
United States, is telling proof. In his
1791 account Travels Through North
and South Carolina, Georgia, East
and West Florida he wrote,
"The epithet fiery, l annex to
this most celebrated species of
Azalea, as being expressive of
the appearance of its flowers,
which are in general of the colour of the finest red lead, orange, and bright gold, as well
as yellow and cream color;
these various splendid colours are not only in separate
plants, but frequently all the
varieties and shades are seen
in separate branches on the
same plant; and the clusters of
the blossoms cover the shrubs
in such incredible profusion
on the hill sides, that suddenly
opening to view from dark
shades, we are alarmed with
the apprehension of the hill
being set on fire."
I don't think I could have written
a better description myself, and it is
incredible and humbling to be able to
relish in Bartram's passionate description of this plant over 200 years later
and to still have access to such an
incredible azalea for our landscapes.
Plants can grow 10 to 15 feet tall. Like
the pinkshell azalea, the flame azalea
likes cooler climes; pay attention to its
preferred zones or site it in a cooler
microclimate on your property.
Plumleaf Azalea
(Rhododendron prunifolium)
Zones S to 8
One of the last native deciduous
azaleas to begin flowering, but certainly not the least, is the plumleaf
azalea (Rhododendron prunifoliuni).
Typically it begins flowering in the
Carolina Piedmont in July, and I have
seen a nice specimen at Biltmore in
full flower in early August. I love how
the flowers seem to embody the reds
and oranges found in summer sunsets.
Once they have grasped your gaze
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Caroli na Gardener
from a distance, you can't help but be
pulled in for a closer look, where you'll
probably notice that the style and filaments in each flower resemble slivers
of red licorice. Expect this plant to top
out at around 10 feet tall.
For a bit of Southern horticultural
lore, those of you who are familiar with
Callaway Gardens might recognize this
flower as part of their emblem. The
plumleaf azalea occurs naturally within
a 100-mile radius of the garden, and its
rarity spurred the Callaways to purchase land, preserving the azalea and
its native habitat. Use a summer plant
palette for companion plantings with
this one. If you get at least a half-day
of sun , black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia
hirta) cultivars such as 'Indian Summer' or 'Cherry Brandy' are great
companion plants.
PLANTING YOUR AZALEAS
Now that I've whetted your appetite
for many of these great plants, or at
least one, there are a few basics to keep
in mind. First and foremost, consider
the sunlight. Since these plants are
grown for their flowers, you'll need to
plant them where tl1ey get some sun.
In the warmer regions of the Piedmont
and coastal plain, provide filtered
shade. They'll do best on the edge of a
shade garden in dappled shade or in a
site where they get morning sun. Deciduous azaleas, and all Rhododendron
species for that matter, benefit from a
good amount of soil drainage. And , being classic members of the heath family
(Ericaceae ), they like their soil to be
on the acidic side, with the pll between
S and 6. High soil pl-I can lock up iron
in the soil and lead to iron chlorosis, a
symptom I have observed on deciduous
azaleas. Poor root growth can also limit
iron uptalrn, as well as other nutrients .
As far as pruning goes, I prefer to
leave azaleas alone. Most of them are
fairly open shrubs. If any pruning is
done on the spring-flowering forms, it
is best done after flowering, since they
form flower buds the previous year.
I love combining these azaleas
with other spring-flowering woodland
plants that have a similar blooming
period. In general, I enjoy creating
color echoes with red, orange and
pink-flowering azaleas . Underneath
my red and orange azaleas is Canadian columbine (Aquilegia canadensis).
Pink-flowering azaleas pair well with
bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis
or Lamprocapnos spectabilis). With
yellow azaleas, I enjoy seeing them
float above a sea of blue-flowering
Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) or the purple petals of woodland
phlox (Phlox divaricata).e
Jared Barnes is a doctorate student at North
Carolina State University with a passion for
gardening.
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