Identifying Azaleas

15 years ago

So, there seem to be a million different types of Azaleas. Is it to much to think I could possibly ID the types I have in my yard?

I have at lease 8-15 different types and I don't know what any of them are except that everyone that sees a few giants I have across the front say they are "Pride of Mobile" variety.

I could have posted pics of all of them but I don't want to be presumptuous thinking you will do all the work for me. I would be happy to but I guess my question is for anyone that has tried to do this in the past. Can it be done or is it just to overwhelming? Where should I start? What resources were helpful?

THANKS!

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Comments (4)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
15 years ago
Azaleas can be identified best when in full bloom, if they are one of the many more popular varieties. That's when they exhibit their unique-ness. I wouldn't know of any other way to ID them for you with any certainty.

If you have some good pictures taken during that time, please post them here OR the Azalea and Rhododendron Forum, where some good folks hang out. You'll have to do the hard work by taking good pictures so that we can all see the distinctive colors and and flower shapes of the individual hybrids.

Most of the biggest (evergreen) azaleas are within the Southern Indica group, and there are scads of those. "Pride of Mobile" is just one of them. It is quite common in this area.
heathcates
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the follow up. I don't have any good pics and after some googleing I guess I should have known that is what I would need. I will try to take some pics next year.

Thanks again.
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
15 years ago
One thing you can do, perhaps, is to find a good book in your local library. One with lots of high quality pictures. "Azaleas", by Fred Galle, is considered THE azalea book and one that I can personally recommend.

I've found that the color in internet pictures can be incredibly wrong! You can look at 50 different web sites and the one azalea that you've looked up with appear different in each one! Seems to me, anyway.

Anyway, you can look up Pride of Mobile, for example...or the whole Southern Indica group...and compare with what you've seen in your own yard.
User
15 years ago
If you have a neighbor who has lived in the same house for a long time.....and has azaleas.....you might ask them. I've learned a lot from the lady who lives behind us, because she was here since both our houses were built back in 1950.

When we cut to the ground some older 12 foot tall azaleas which had a lot of dead wood, I was amazed to note that these bushes had trunks the size of older small trees. No kidding. They are growing back from the stumps now, with nice full new leaves. These older azaleas had issues with gall on them, looked quite ugly, and I did not want to infect anything else. The newer varieties do not seem to have that problem in my yard at least.