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I picked up 2 small Azalea bushes on my recent vacation to virginia beach. Down there, EVERYONE has these, and they are absolutely stunning... huge bushes just covered in flowers. Tag says hardy to -5f. My plan is to put these in my last remaining space on the southside of my house. Anyone else grow these in colder climates? Any recommendations on winter protection, fertilizing, etc??? I'd love to get these things going here, but don't know anything at all about them.

Jova- Treat them as you would any Rhododendron. Acidic (pH 4.5-5.5) soil, with organic matter mixed in, and then about 1/3-1/2 peat moss. Depending on your native soil pH you may also want to use sulphur before building up the ammended soil....

..........and then just mulching them in fall

On quick note: azaleas might hate direct sunlight all day... I am wondering if the South exposure would be too much for them. Ideally, they wuld love to be planted under some light shaded evergreen trees (e.g. pines), the leaves of which would continuously add to the acidity of the soil. IF your main winds are coming from West, you may consider planting it on the East side (or North even, because morning winter sum can be a killer, too)

If you change the soil for the azaleas, make sure to go BIG, once you decided to do so. What I mean is that try to change as much as possible (e.g. at least 3' x 3' x 3'). The roots eventually will grow outside this range and then you will need to concentrate on proper fertilization and soil acidification (Alumminum sulphate for example).

But you know what? Don't stop there. Try other plants needing similar care, too. You could think of Leucothoe, Pieris, some Camellia varieties...... Imagine an asian corner in your garden with some bamboos in the background, a tiny pond, some rocks around and tree peonies calming the action....

Good luck and pleeease, send us picks, ok?
THanks, Rob

I have one in full sun. It gets minimal leaf burn and, although the thing is barley a foot tall, it has more then a dozen blooms. They seem to like a mid afternoon mist of cool water. They seem to need a bit more water in a warm area. Its an Exubury cultivar called "lollipop". ITs said to be as hardy as my WEigelia, which survived -28C last year ( although we had a few days at this low at night, our winter was atleast 10C warmer on average), it had minimal top kill. Im not sure what type of azalea you have, but i do know recently some new types have been comming out that are more and mroe tolerant of sun.

Azaleas are practically obligatory around here. I never thought they had any cold issues, but what do I know? I have some very large ones that I will eventually remove (more space for Palms and Citrus). Anyone who wants one is welcome to come down here. Just bring a shovel and some brute strength.

Yeah, mandatory here, too. I feel like a rebel for not having 'em!
(Not that I don't like them, mind you. I'm just being ornery.) --Erik

My Lollipop azalea hasnt been tried over winter here, but it flowered pretty good a few weeks ago. Check out my thread "pushin gthe limits of cold hardiness", theres a few pics on there.

Come to find out: azaleas are completely hardy here as well. I didn't know this at first, when I brought the 2 plants back from Virginia Beach, because the azaleas here aren't nearly as impressive as the ones I saw down south, where they grow into huge bushes. I'd love to be able to get mine to grow like they do down south, because a huge azalea bush in full bloom is a spectacular site. I'm guessing that it's just the longer growing season and milder winter temperatures that allows them to grow much larger in the south. Perhaps some light winter protection, such as a burlap screen, might make the difference. Odd thing is, everyone says that azaleas are closely related to rhodos, and rhodos get huge here, but I never see huge azaleas.

Eric,
Do your azaleas have little hairs on the leaves? Those ones are less hardy then the rhodie style hard form.

Bill

As far as ive learned, Azalea are a type of Rhodo. Correct me if im wrong please....

Mine is labeled "Decideous Azalea 'Exubury' ( Rhododendron hybrid)" THe name on the pot was "Westins Lollipop". ITs hardy to zone 5, and gets to 5 - 8 feet tall. ID concider that a big bush. I finally found the tag LOL. I hope this helps some.

Your right, but the indica form is closer to a zone 8 plant then a zone 5 and he did buy them in Virginia Beach. They very well could sell them there.

That's pretty interesting I never new they had such a thing as a deciduous azalea I always thought they where evergreen. I'm sure that will help with cold hardiness not having to maintain the leaves in winter.

Bill

THere are decidious types called "Northern lights", which is a big seller up here. The tags label them hardy to zone 4. They stay smaller too. Although they have plain green leaves, where as my "lillipop" has a red tinge to them.

Im not sure how hardy it is.... well see when winter hits

A for proteting yours, burlap is probably the way to go, at least till its a it more estabolished.

that "northern lights" name sounded familiar.
I had one years ago.
Mine didn't make it beyond the first winter.
Other than snow, it had no protection.

Good luck with yours

Barb