edited original subject to include 'azalea'...

Dear brit5467 7b VA,

I'm not sure, but your azaleas may be either 'Hino Crimson' or 'Hinodegiri'--two of the standard Kurume cultivars.

thanks jay~

I'm not sure,but still think the guy called them "red" something. I didn' even google names you told me since pics can be so deceiving....as were mine. They DO look very crimson, but in real life, they are really a true red.

I called the guy tonite to see if he could tell me (found his #) but since he & his wife are in the process of moving, hence, why he's selling all his plants...I never got a call back.

When I have more time tomorrow, I WILL google what you said and see if it 'clicks' but thanks so much for your response. I don't think this is a very active forum, so may post it again on Perennials...since that is where I'm most familiar.

BTW...where 'bouts in SC are you? I once lived in Greenville. Really nice, but I sure did miss my water (the bay, the coastline). But DID learn to snow ski up at Boone and Beach Mts., so that was a plus...lol

Other red Kurume Azaleas are Hershey's Red and Mother's Day. Another possibility is the red Gable Azalea, Stewarsonian.

Yours isn't Hershey's Red since yours isn't double. The shape of your flower's petals match Stewarsonian and Hinode Giri.

Here are some pictures:

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Hershey's Red (Kurume): A very bright, double red flower on a plant that is compact and hardy. Good foliage and bright flower make this an exceptional azalea.

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Hinode Giri (Kururme): this azalea produces multitudes of rose-crimson flowers early to mid-season. Small, glossy leaves turn bright red in winter on this dense plant.

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Hino Crimson (Kurume): Bright crimson flowers unfold in early spring, and holding their color well. This attribute, coupled with sun tolerance and red winter foliage, makes 'Hino Crimson' an excellent all around choice.

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Mother's Day (Kurume): A hybrid of âÂÂHinode-giri', âÂÂMother's Day' was awarded a Horticultural Commendation by the R.H.S. With their clean lines, pure color, and texture heavier than most, these flowers have substance." Two inch, "hose-in-hose" to semi-double blooms are rose-red, with slightly darker spotting in the throat, which adds depth rather than contrast.

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Stewartsonian (Gable): 'Stewartstonian' displays lush red 2" blooms that, in the light, appear blood orange. Winter foliage deepens to wine red, making it an excellent winter foliage plant.

Here are some of the azalea names that begin with 'Red':

'Red American Beauty', 'Red Baron', 'Red Beauty', 'Red Bird', 'Red Feather', 'Red Festive', 'Red Flame', 'Red Formosa', 'Red Fountain', 'Red Frills', 'Red Glacier', 'Red Glow', 'Red Gumpo', 'Redhair Azalea', 'Red Hawk', 'Red Head', 'Red Hot', 'Red Orange', 'Red Party Dress', 'Red Pepper', 'Red Perfection', 'Red Peter', 'Red Pimpernel', 'Red Planet', 'Red Pom Pom', 'Red Slipper', 'Red Sparks', 'Red Star', 'Red Sun', 'Red Sunrise', 'Red Sunset', 'Red Tip', 'Red Velvet', 'Red Whisk', and 'Redwings'

Wow...those are some beautiful pics and thanks for taking the time to list all those "red" names, but guess what? Duhhh....I was wrong about red being in the name.

I remembered the seller had given me a receipt and he'd written the name on there. Jay, you were right. They ARE hino crimson and & rhodyman's pic is the correct color of mine.

So now that we've figured that out, can y'all possibly tell me the growing habits for reason stated in OP? Thanks

Dear brit5467 7b VA East Coast,
By nature, the numerous Kurume azalea cultivars are slow-growing and compact. Therefore, they are good for small spaces. However, with time--with the passage of decades--and left unpruned, 'Hino Crimson' and the other Kurume cultivars can grow very tall and wide. For example, we have an 'Apple Blossom,' planted in the 1960's and unpruned, except for the removal of dead branches, that now approaches six feet in height. However, it's fairly narrow in width. I think the mature, unpruned height of 'Hino Crimson' is typically a little less than six feet.

Although common sense tells me that I should plant azaleas and other woody ornamentals in the fall or winter, I acknowledged necessity during this past weekend and planted seven 'Hershey's Red' azaleas where a number of other spring-planted azaleas had died during this past year's drought as a result of my failure to keep them well-watered. These azaleas are mixed together with a few 'Hino Crimson' azaleas and a rogue 'Fashion' azalea. Except for the 'Fashion' azalea, the other azaleas are similar enough in color to blend together well. They are all profuse bloomers, and the color of the 'Fashion' azalea is close enough to the other shades of red for me to plan to leave it in the azalea bed. However, it's more of a salmon than a true red. Diversity is a good thing horticulturally as well as in society at large, don't you think?

The seven potted 'Hershey's Red' azaleas had been sitting around the yard since November and were growing in a dry medium composed mostly of pine bark. They were pot-bound and could not withstand the heat of summer without being planted in the ground. I plan to discipline myself this year and water the 'Hershey's Red' azaleas at least once a week if we have insufficient rainfall again this year. I don't want to lose these azaleas because of my own indolence. The planting was made easy by having the pre-dug holes of the dead azaleas ready and waiting for new occupants.

I live in the country at Central, SC, which is named _Central_ because it's halfway between Charlotte and Atlanta on the railroad line. I garden on a farm in northern Anderson County approximately nine road miles southeast of Tillman Hall on the campus of Clemson University--fewer miles as the crow flies.

Jay...Thanks so much for your informative reply ~

I was "transplanted" in Greenville for about a year and remember Anderson being very close. Am guessing it's the same as Anderson County. I was right off 85 in brand new apt. complex before you actually got to Greenville (but that was in the 80's). I worked somewhere north of it, at Spartan Express Trucking and that's why I remember Anderson.

Had forgotten where, so googled it and it was Greer. Does that ring a bell? Am also familar with Roebuck, Spartanburg...due my boyfriend's family(at that time).

What a nice walk down memory lane, so thank you!

Like you care...lol. Sorry. Just so kool to connect with people on here close to your own home or where you used to live.

It felt like 'central' SC to me since I got very 'homesick' used to being right here on the coast of the Chesapeake Bay -- we're called 'the Peninsula' (very close to Atlantic Ocean and Va Beach & Wiliamsburg).

With similar climates, certainly understand the watering issue. I am very frugile (sp?) with my plant purchases so every ONE is very important to me but last season, I just couldn't handle the "skeeters"...have an allergy to the bites (plus, have am disabled somewhat)...so I just didn't get out as much as I should.

So plants never got planted, the planted ones craved water...but I just couldn't take care of them. I was sick that I threw out many perennials I'd bought and never got in the ground (esp. since they'd lived on my walkway for many a month and was diligent in giving them a good watering from my porch railing hose most every day while trying to dodge those darn skeeters - but....)

Ultimately, I gave up & paid someone to weedwhack it down (with new daylilies coming up...ouch) since it had become a jungle (right in front of my house) then sprayed the entire garden with Roundup (ohhh, how I hated to use poison) and and swore I was done with it.

But this year, when most everything came back, I just couldn't bear to neglect it. I did get soaker hose...hoping that will help with not having to pull out the sprinker every other day.

Point is -- that watering obligation is realy a B-tch...I know. I swore I would not let the weeds & need for mulch get ahead of me this year, but with this funky weather, I think it is geting ahead of me AGAIN. Oh well...I'm just gonna hang in there...lol.

I had NO IDEA azaleas, unchecked, could grow that tall !!! Thanks for that info. I will be esp. mindful to mark my calendar to be sure to do a hard prune (is that what it's called?) at some point.

When do you suggest doing that? I'd really hoped to keep the foliage all thru the summer & into 'our' fall (so warm) since they say it's so pretty and I could really use the fullness thru winter, even.

Plus, I feed birds and seem to like the winter plants. Was hoping to expand their living area....lol.

Bonnie