Although many people do not realize it, there are over 10,000 types of azaleas and approximately 800 species. Azaleas can be cut and replanted, where the plant will clone itself to make new azaleas, although they can also be grown from seeds.
They are beautiful plants and are well-known for their ability to grow almost anywhere. Azaleas also have various blooming times, colors, and sizes, and they can grow in a variety of conditions. Some are most common in the United States; below are descriptions of some of them.
Table of Contents
Deciduous/Hybrid Azaleas
Deciduous and hybrid azaleas are broken down into two main categories, as described below.
Aromi Deciduous
These azaleas are characterized by their large size, early bloom time, rich colors, and improved hardiness in the buds. Their types come in many different colors, including:
- Amy Dennis: Lemon yellow with red-orange trim
- Appalachian Gold: Deep gold in color
- April Fanfare: Bright yellow with red-orange tips
- April Follies: Bright yellow
- April Yellow: Bright yellow with a light red-orange on the tips
- Aromi Sunny-Side-Up: Pale to lemon yellow
- Aromi Sunrise: Orange to yellow-orange
- Aromi Sunstruck: Pale to lemon yellow
- Bees Haven: Small white flowers highlighted with light pink
- Canary Isles: Large yellow flowers with orange tips
- Cayenne Capers: Deep yellow flowers flushed with red
- Centerpiece: Light cream color buds opening to white flowers
- Clear Creek: Translucent yellow flushed with white
- Coral Reef: Light yellow flowers flushed with dark red
- Country Cousin: Deep red flowers opening to white flowers flushed with red
- Courtship: Large white flowers with red edges
- Dancing Rabbit: Bright yellow flowers; fragrant
- Decidedly Pink: Large white flowers flushed with dark red
- First Love: Large white flowers flushed with red
- Flirtation Pink: White flowers flushed with cardinal red
- Fool’s Folly: Orange buds that open to bright yellow flowers flushed with light orange
- Forty-Niner: Golden flowers flushed with scarlet
- Four Kings: Red buds that open to bright yellow flowers flushed with faint red
- Four Sisters: Cardinal red buds that open to white flowers flushed with cardinal red
- Frontier Gold: Scarlet-orange buds that open to golden flowers shaded in scarlet
- Frontier Red: Red-orange flowers flushed with bright red
- Gene’s Gold: Creamy gold flowers flushed with rose tips
- Glory Be: Many bright yellow flowers; fragrant
- Goldrush: Large golden-yellow flowers flushed with red-orange
- Gold Strike: Deep yellow flowers
- Head’s Up: Light yellow flowers flushed with a faint red
- Hearts’ Afire: Large red-orange flowers
- High Tide: Ivory flowers with light pink tips
- High Times: Bright yellow flowers flushed with red-orange tips
- Honey Lamb: Purple-pink flowers
- Honeybee Hobnob: Light yellow flowers flushed with bright red
- Indian Spring: Light yellow flowers flushed with dark red
- Indian Yellow: Large light-yellow flowers shaded with bright red
- Jack of Hearts: Red-orange; bloom in June
- Jane’s Gold: Cream and yellow flowers with rose tips
- Jeanette Ann: White flowers flushed with pink tips
- John Giordano: Orange flowers with red-orange tips
- Jonquil Yellow: Lemon yellow flower, fragrant
- Jubilation: Large light-yellow flowers flushed with orange-red
- Julius Kingsley: White flowers flushed with deep red
- June Jubilee: Small white flowers; late-blooming
- Kevin Patrick: Red buds that open to orange flowers flushed with deep pink
- King’s Jester: Large yellow flowers flushed with red
- King’s Ransom: Light yellow flowers with red-orange tips
- King’s Treasure: Large bright yellow buds open to pure yellow flowers flushed with red-orange
- King’s Trumpeter: Dark red buds that open to bright yellow flowers flushed with bright red
- King’s Wizard: Bright yellow flowers flushed with bright red
- Lacecap: Light pink flowers
- Laughing Lion: Light yellow flowers with deep red edges
- Lemon Lullaby: Large light-yellow flowers
- Lemonade: Large lemon-yellow flowers
- Liz Colbert: Brick red buds open to light peach flowers
- Marilyn Jeanne: White flowers flushed heavily with deep red
- Moon Dreams: Large white flowers
- Misty Dawn: White flowers with pink tips
- Neon: Deep yellow flowers flushed with red-orange
- Old Rose: Damask rose flowers
- Orange Cloud: Pure orange flowers, fragrant
- Orange Rhyme: Bright orange flowers flushed with bright red
- Pale Moon: Large white flowers; fragrant
- Pathfinder: Orange buds open to golden flowers
- Peach Glow: Red-orange buds open to light yellow flowers flushed with red-orange
- Pink Carousel: Scarlet buds open to pale pink flowers
- Pink Promise: Very large peach-pink flowers
- Pirate’s Booty: Very large deep-yellow flowers flushed heavily with deep red
- Pirate’s Pink: Very large cream flowers flushed heavily with bright red
- Pretty in Pink: White flowers flushed with deep pink
- Queen’s Ivory: Ivory flowers
- Queen’s Lace: White flowers flushed with pink
- Queen’s Rose: Rose flowers
- Radiant Red: Dark red buds that open to many bright-yellow flowers flushed heavily with dark red
- Red Chameleon: Scarlet buds open to red flowers that fade to Damask rose
- Red Pepper: Red-orange flowers
- Red Whisk: Light lemon-yellow flowers with scarlet pistils and stamens
- Rose Souffle: Rose flowers; blooms in late June
- Smith Pink: Large salmon-colored flowers
- Southern Sunset: Bright yellow flowers with red tips
- Spanish Main: Deep-red buds open to red-orange flowers flushed with red
- Spring Dreams: Large white flowers flushed with deep pink on the tips
- Spring Enchantment: Deep salmon flowers
- Spring Fandango: Strong yellow flowers flushed heavily with deep rose
- Spring Fanfare: Bright yellow petals with red tips
- Spring Frolic: Bright yellow flowers lightly flushed with red-orange
- Spring Pixie: Medium-sized pink flowers
- Spring Sensation: Pastel pink flowers
- Spring Snowfall: Large white flowers flushed with light yellow
- Spring Song: Large cream flowers with cardinal red tips
- Strawberry Sherbet: Large white flowers with deep-pink tips
- Strawberry Sundae: White petals flushed with a deep pink
- Summer Snowball: Medium-sized white flowers
- Summer Snowflakes: White flowers flushed with light yellow; extremely fragrant
- Sundown: Large light-yellow flowers flushed lightly with Cardinal red
- Tabasco: Bright red flowers
- Temple’s Toy: Deep-red buds open to orange flowers with deep-red tips
- Tensaw: Bright yellow flowers
- Tipsy Tangerine: Scarlet buds open to flowers with different shades of orange
- Touch of Pink: Large white flowers with deep-pink tips
- Tradewinds: Large light-yellow flowers with light flushes of orange
- Twilight Pink: Pink flowers and deep-red buds
- Twinkles: White petals flushed with red on the edges
- White Star: Large, star-shaped white flowers with light-pink tips
Dodd Confederate Series
A cross of several rhododendron seeds, they tolerate heat well and have a lot of vigor. Most of them are difficult to grow until you get them in the semi-shade and in an area that drains well. There are 11 main types, listed below.
- Admiral Franklin Buchanan: Deep orange
- Admiral Semmes: Solid yellow
- Colonel Mosby: Pink with yellow flag
- Emma Sansom: Soft pink and yellow
- Frederick O. Douglass: Soft pink
- Robert E. Lee: Orange, close to red
- JEB Stuart: Pink with yellow flag
- Leroy Brown: Deep orange
- Nathan Bedford Forrest: Orange
- Lafayette Acree: Ruffled orange
- Stonewall Jackson: Medium orange
Evergreen Hybrids
These azaleas can be crossed between other species or even other hybrids, and they provide a wide variety of bloom times, colors, and habitats. This means that, regardless of your personal preferences and tastes or where you live, you should be able to find something within this category that suits you. A few of the available categories are below.
Encore
These are true multi-season bloomers, blooming in every season except winter. They are fairly hardy and are available in 30 main types, described below.
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- Amethyst: Red-purple
- Angel: White
- Belle: Pink
- Bravo: Red
- Carnation: Pink
- Carnival: Pink
- Cheer: Pink
- Chiffon: White to red
- Coral: Pink
- Debutante: Pink
- Embers: Red
- Empress: Pink
- Fire: Red
- Ivory: White
- Jewel: Magenta
- Lilac: Purple-violet
- Lily: Red-purple
- Monarch: Orange-red
- Moonlight: White and yellow
- Princess: Pink
- Rouge: Pink
- Royalty: Purple
- Ruby: Pink
- Sangria: Pink
- Starlite: White
- Sunburst: Coral
- Sundance: Pink
- Sunset: Red
- Sweetheart: Pink
- Twist: White to purple
Glenn Dale
There are over 450 Glenn Dale cultivars, and they grow from 3 to 8 feet in height. For a more detailed description of these azaleas, you can search the Internet and get additional information.
Holly Springs
These azaleas were developed in 1977 and went through more than 30 crosses. They were developed for extra hardiness in the cold and come in dwarf to mid-size growth habits and with large blooms. There are approximately 60 cultivars that come in a wide variety of colors and shades.
Satsuki
These have been hybridized in Japan for over 500 years and number nearly 200 cultivars, most of which can be found online.
Kehr
This hybrid includes roughly 11 types of azaleas, including:
- Anna Kehr: Dark pink
- Bob Hill: Magenta
- Cream Perfect: White
- Cream Ruffles: White
- Harold Epstein: White flushed with green
- Janet Flick: Pink
- Kehr’s Moonbeam: Creamy white
- King’s Red: Red
- Mary Lou Kehr: Pink
- Memory of Fred Galle: Light yellow
- White Rosebud: White
Evergreen Species
There are over 40 species included in this group, and they are divided into two main categories, described below. They are native to Japan, but some have made their way to other countries. The two main categories are:
Kyushu Group
From the island of Japan and include:
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- Kaempferi: One of the hardiest types of azaleas; has produced other hybrids, including many strong evergreen azaleas.
- Kiusianum: These grow up to 3 feet high and are twiggy and thick. Includes numerous wild hybrids favored by both Europeans and Americans alike.
Indica Group
Consists of two late-blooming plants, the R. Indium and the R. Tamurae species. In Japan, most groups are divided by their blooming time, and they call these two species Satsuki Hybrid azaleas.
Deciduous Species
Of the North American native azaleas, there are 17 varieties that are divided into 3 categories, described below.
The White Group
These seven varieties grow in the Eastern United States, the West, and Canada. Six are from Europe and one is from Alabama. They are:
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- Alabamense
- Arborescens
- Atlanticum
- Colemanii
- Eastmanii
- Occidentale
- Viscosum
The Pink Group
These five varieties bloom in early spring, often before the leaves are fully expanded. Their colors include pale pink, rose pink, and almost a cherry red. They are:
- Canadense
- Canescens
- Periclymenoides
- Prinophyllum
- Vaseyi
The Orange to Red Group
The five varieties range from yellow to gold to dark orange and even scarlet and include:
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- Austrinum
- Calendulaceum
- Cumberlandense
- Flammeum
- Prunifolium
The Many Advantages of Growing Azaleas
So, you’ve decided to grow azaleas, but why? Everyone knows how beautiful they are, and there are also additional advantages to growing azaleas, and these include the following:
Climate needs
Through Zone 8, azaleas tend to grow well, which means over half of the people in North America can grow azaleas without any challenges. As long as your city doesn’t get below -10 Fahrenheit, you should be fine growing them.
Simple care and maintenance
Once azaleas are planted, they are extremely easy to take care of, and even though some pruning is necessary, azaleas do not need fertilizer. Therefore, their upkeep is minimal.
Most pests avoid azaleas
Although some diseases can strike your azaleas, pests such as flies and mites usually leave azaleas alone, which means more than likely, you won’t have to worry about these animals destroying your flowers. If you do experience any problems, they will likely be easy to take care of with a soil treatment that is inexpensive and easy to apply. For the most part, the care of azaleas is not very time-consuming.