I would not call the Encore's 'dwarf'. For small locations, I look at some of the Kurume Hybrids, like Hinodegiri, Hino Crimson (red), Snow (white), Christmas Cheer, etc. Clay soil will need to be amended as azalea's tiony roots will have a hard time penetrating clayish soil. They will need water regularly during the hot and dry times. If it is difficult to find a spot that provides shade in the afternoon during the worst of the summers, consider growing them in pots.

I noticed that I forgot to paste a link on my prior msg... I was also going to let you know of another reblooming series of azaleas recently introduced called Bloom-A-Thon, sold in pots by Proven Winners and Monrovia. It claims that the flowers last very long (4-6 weeks).

I have not heard from others who can confirm as they have only recently been available in larger numbers. Usually, the first flush in Spring is the largest and best so it would be interesting to see how these "behave". They claim several flushes throughout the growing season; my Encores sometimes skip blooming in the summer if it is unusually hot. There are several colors in the BAT Series but white is the smallest. In your zone and mine, azaleas may get a tad bigger than their stated size (an estimate) due to our longer growing season. So take the BAT and Encore Size Estimates as estimates.

If you decide that reblooming is not too important, check some of the Bollywood Azaleas (small, blooms once but are variegated).

Here is a link that might be useful: Encores by size

This post was edited by luis_pr on Sat, Mar 30, 13 at 4:11