Plant ID, please!

6 Mar '07 2:34 am

This was a gift from a close friend a week ago without any label. Well, this is very usual here where almost all the plants sold at our local nurseries are without labels! Thus, I'd appreciate very much if anyone here can help to name this fabulous plant which is less than 6 ins. in height but overflowing with so many blooms - how lovely! Smile

Thanks.

6 Mar '07 3:02 am

My friend, Jacqueline! This is an Azalea indica! Or, a Rhododendron simsii. It is a dwarf shrub ,very popular in Europe, offered as pot plant during Christmas or a little afterwards , full of buds! When these buds open, the flowers literally cover the plant! It has nothing to do with the japanese frosthardy Azaleas that thrive in the gardens. This plant is excessively forced with special treatments at its mother nursery, because it is basically considered -- poor thing --- a decorative article...And it is actually VERY difficult to survive in our heated rooms after the fading of its beautiful flowers...

But , still, if you fell in love with it , there is a chance to turn it into a plant belonging longer to your plant family, if : you keep it constantly wet, not just moist - using soft water , because it is an acidity lover , dinstinctly cool, and brightly lit -- without any sunshine on it. Spray it constantly. Remove regularly its faded blooms. I had succeded in the past to keep a plant alive for 3 years, in this way! I used to move it out to the patio, as soon the temperatures changed to the better, about mid-May, always in a shadowy spot. But without flowers and staying out , it does not like much watering..On the contrary, it loves being sprayed constantly.

There is a vast variety of colours! Even bicoloured,

6 Mar '07 3:20 pm

Dear Liza, thank you so much for identifying my lovely plant and providing much info about its care and maintenance too! Hmmm...I am definitely in love with it and will assist its adjustment into my garden and hope it stays put for a very, very long time with us!! Wink

Thanks again, dear friend! Very Happy

10 Mar '07 6:42 am

Dear Jacqueline

I was so frustrated because I saw your post but could not respond!

I quite agree with Liza about these plants being forced; it is unnatural for them to carry quite so many flowers when they are so small. The result is that few have the strength to survive; almost like annuals they die after flowering. It happens often to those sold in SA - however I pulled through 4 pots bought on a sale this summer, each containing 5 young plants. All 20 survived at a total cost of about 4 Euros for the 20 plants!

With regular feeding you should be able to keep them alive for the next few months, whereafter they will grow as normal. They don't like dry heat, but I'm certain your climate is humid enough that they will do well - they do extremely well down the mountain from us in subtropical gardens where they are kept shaded and watched for drying out. Misting helps in dry weather. They are the plants above all others that made our valley famous as a garden destination - here is a 2005 photo from my garden...

10 Mar '07 7:04 am

Dear Jack -this latest picture of the azaleas is a dream !
Smiley and I like to visit the Taranaki region regularly (where his great grandparents were the first white settlers) It is the western area of the North island .On the slopes of Mt Egmont ,is a magnificent garden made by volunteers -Pukeiti -it is on the internet www.Pukeiti.org.nz ...It specialises in Rhododenrons and azaleas ,and to visit at that time of year when they are all flowering on the slopes is to take your breath away -similar to your photo which is ideal conditions for them.
Dixie

10 Mar '07 3:55 pm

Thanks Dixie! I took a quick look at their site - yet another reason to SOMEDAY visit your beautiful country! (4000mm - that's TWICE what we get on average!)

11 Mar '07 4:46 am

Ditto what Dixie said about your azaleas, Jack! Its a wow..wow..wow!!! Incredibly stunning and you've captured them so superbly with the diagonal slant to maximise their beauty! Thanks for posting them! And thanks lots for added tips on azalea's care. I'm not so confident about their survival though as they seem so fragile. Anyway, I've decided to keep them in my courtyard where I think my plant has a better survival chance as it's more shaded and cooler, away from the scorching heat at my frontyard! We'll see how it goes, no news will be good news! Wink

11 Mar '07 6:48 am

Shady and cool are perfect conditions ,Jacqueline - I've just remembered that all the foreground pink in my avatar is an azalea .No sun ,and very happy in the cool shade.
Dixie

11 Mar '07 8:26 am

Dear Jack! I just saw your stunning Azaleas! Yours , though, are Japanese Azaleas! I call them "garden Azaleas", because they are frost-hardy. They are also compact, with small shining evergreen leaves, but spreading, with smaller single flowers. They become a little or much taller than Azalea indica (= Indian) of Jacqueline's, which never gets more than 45cm/1,5 feet tall, and has double large flowers.

The other frost-hardy Azaleas ,the Chinese ones, are the deciduous ones , also called "Mollis", having larger , non-shining leaves, and larger, single -- Lily like -- blooms. These ones can reach the 2 meters.

Here are some of them in my Spring garden (of the past):

13 Mar '07 3:57 am

Dear Dixie, thanks for the affirmation! Once all the flowers wither, I'll be repotting my azalea which is in a 4 ins. pot into a larger container. Or do you think it's wiser to wait a while after all the dead-heading is done, for it to adjust (the trimming) before repotting? Any advice is much appreciated! Thanks. BTW, your pink azaleas are beautiful, they really complement your fairy garden setting

Liza dear, your azaleas are gorgeous! So many shades and blooms abundantly! I do hope mine survive and bloom as much, they'll really add colour to our green crowds at the courtyard! Thanks for sharing! Smile

Plant ID, please!

Plant ID, please!

An Azalea Indica.

Many thanks!

Should survive outside for you...

spectacular azaleas

Beautiful NZ

Azaleas

Jack's and Jacqueline's Azaleas!

Azalea