Ramp Up Your Curb Appeal with Azaleas!

Last weekend a friend of mine was hiking the Emerald Trail in Boston and sent me a photo of a shrub all ablaze in vivid orange-red bloom from top to bottom. She asked me what this beautiful bush was and I let her know it was an azalea. It sure was a beauty. I've had a love-hate relationship with azaleas for the longest time. While I always admire them in other people's landscapes and in public gardens, the few times I've attempted to grow them, I've never had terrific results. They tend to always look kind of straggly and somewhat lanky with just a few blossoms each year. I've got one blooming in yellow in my garden right now that's probably the best looking azalea I've ever grown but it certainly pales in comparison to the one my friend observed. I've always had a much easier time growing the larger-leaved rhododendron. I thought I'd get to the bottom of why my normally green thumb is a little gray when it comes to this versatile group of very pretty shrubs. Azaleas are actually a sub-type of rhododendron. I read a good article, "Demystifying Rhododendrons and Azaleas" by R. Wayne Mezitt at www.hort-sense.com and he explained there's over 1,000 species of rhododendrons and they're in the heath family. Cultivation and hybridization of rhododendrons took off in the 1800s, primarily in Europe though there are native varieties in North America. As a very general rule, rhododendrons that we grow here in New Hampshire are large-leafed varieties and hold on to their leaves through the winter. Bloom color ranges from white to pink, magenta and deep burgundy. Azaleas generally have smaller leaves and they're deciduous. After the first frost or two they drop their leaves. They have a much wider color range than their big-leaved cousins. From white to yellow and gold, blood red and a variety of fruit punch colors. Both rhododendrons and azaleas make great members of foundation plantings. Their woody stems keep reaching and need to be kept in check so as not to slowly overtake the view out of a home's windows. We've all seen houses where it looks like the entire first floor must be filled with shadows due to shrubs overtaking. It typically happens slowly over time so folks don't realize all the natural light they're missing inside. I like the fact that, particularly when used in foundation gardens, rhododendrons are evergreen and provide a nice companion to coniferous shrubs. Both azaleas and rhododendrons can be shaped and they offer a somewhat formal structure to a landscape. Shaping and pruning should be done on an annual basis rather than waiting for years and then having to lop off half the shrub. Since they're woody plants, they don't always fill in nicely after severe prunings. My soil is plenty acidic here in Dublin but if I had to guess why my azaleas don't seem to flourish is that I don't put them in ideal locations. Though they like a good deal of shade, planting directly under much larger trees isn't the best spot. It's often very dry, thin soil under a tree and competing with a much larger tree's root mass amongst an already thin soil cover isn't going to result in the best success. While azaleas and rhododendrons both want a more acidic soil, it's important to make sure it's rich in organic matter and able to absorb water readily. Likewise, the plant site should be well draining. Interestingly, when I Googled which were easier to care for, azaleas supposedly are more adaptable to a range of conditions than their cousins. I'll attempt to put this theory to the test when I plant some azaleas in the foundation bed around my back patio. The soil is certainly better than the dirt under a big oak, the site gets morning sun and afternoon shade and tends to stay evenly moist. There's a couple of evergreen lemon leaf shrubs already in place so hopefully their new, colorful neighbors will change my grey thumb back to green.