i would expect most of the encore azaleas to exceed your height limitations. you can always prune them but i don't care for the look of a manicured azalea hedge.
are you wanting something that is at least 2.5' but no more than 3'? if so, it may be difficult to find that particular azalea. if it should be no higher than 2.5'-3', i can recommend either white or pink 'gumpo'. in fact, they may never reach that height - they are low spreaders and late-bloomers (usually late may, early june in my area so shade is recommended that late in the season).
have a look at the table linked below for some more ideas. i would go for ones that they describe as either low or compact unless you want to do some occasional pruning.
by the way, i have 'pink ruffles' and it is one of the shorter varieties for me but the plant itself is not that robust. don't have the red form of that one.
not familiar with aaron or madonna.

Here is a link that might be useful: azaleas for florida

I purchased 8 Encore Autumn Chiffon azaleas today via www.plantsbymail.com. They grow to 2.5' in height, according to their (and Encore's) website. I also found another nursery that had them (Teasnursery in Houston). They checked the tag for me to confirm the 2.5' height. However, the person I spoke with today at Teas wouldn't ship to me at this time of year. They thought it was too hot and they would wilt or die in shipment.

These azaleas were difficult to find!

I'm thinking of planting an even smaller azalea in front of the Encore Chiffons, since I have space for them. Wayside Gardens has one that grows somewhere between 12=18" in height, but the spread is a little larger than I would like (30"). Also, pink gumpos, as you suggest, will likely work, so I may go with them instead.

Parts of my planting bed may be too shady for azaleas, but I am going to give it a try anyways...

Teas was right about the heat. Up here near Dallas, we are still in the 100's.... groan.... Houston is supposed to be in the upper 90's. A cold spell is coming our way and will bring the temps down this weekend though.

I too recommend Gumpo White... has white flowers and grows 2.5 to 3ft. It is a sort of common azalea that I see often for sale in local nurseries every year. Hope you can find that one in Florida's nurseries.

Luis

Hmmm.... I thought Gumpos were shorter than that. I may have to look harder at the Wayside Gardens azaleas. Do you know of any azaleas that grow to a maximum height of 12 - 15 inches?

I do not have one but I have heard of Azalea Pink Cascade, which is an evergreen weeping variety. It is rather dwarf and I think that it grows between 1-2 feet. Research it online or in some Azalea Books. Luis

for me, 'gumpo' has not exceeded 18" after many years. actually, they are more like 12"-15" tall and wider than that; slow growing with very large flowers for the shrub size.
there is an azalea called 'flame creeper' that is low growing but i believe it is orangeish, rather than pink or white.
lowe's is a retail distributor for the encore series.
they should have them in stock as the weather cools in a month or so and again in spring, just in case you might want to check out some other varieties.

Little bid off topic, but I found all 'gumpos' a little bid disproportional when in flower. Flowers are way too large for a shrub of such small statue and it look tacky for my taste. Just one man opinion.

Thanks for the information! After we get the Encore Chiffons planted, we'll look at the remaining space and figure out what to plant in it. Right now, I'm leaning toward the Gumpo Pinks, although I could go with something else.

The stated height of azaleas is based on the height of a 10 year old plant. They never stop growing, they just slow down. Also, in shade, the plants grow taller and in full sun they tend to be more manageable. They can always be pruned in the spring after they bloom. I don't know when to prune Encore azaleas. The safest thing to do is after or while blooming just twist off the foliage buds on the top to prevent more top growth.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pruning Azaleas

The Encore Azaleas have arrived. They are in good shape and we are looking forward to planting them. They even have a few blooms on them, which allows us to confirm that they are a good, complimentary color to our red brick house and our loropetalums.

Thanks for the information about azaleas growing taller in the shade.

One azalea from Wayside is "Joseph Hill".Color is not white or pink but red/orange. I believe they refer to it in their description as being a mounding type. They stay very low,only ocassionaly throwing some tall branch that can be cut back to neaten up the plant. Because it is such a low grower,lower branches will root so I refer to mine as a carpet azalea. Slow grower and rooted stems can be cut off and planted else where or to share with a gardening friend.

PP

I purchased 'Aaron' in 1 gal. containers last fall at HD. They've bloomed off and on ever since. I put them in the front of a mixed shrub border containing Indicas and hydrangeas. So far, I'm pleased with them, but it remains to be seen how tall they'll get. May have to move them. One I have been *very* disappointed in is the Red Ruffles that were here when we bought the house a year ago. They bloom sparsley and never put on a real show. Also, despite being well-fed, the plants are ratty looking, and the foliage, unlike 'Aaron's', isn't green and glossy. Am I doing something wrong? judy in Central Florida

We have out planting scheme worked out. We will not be planting an additional, smaller azalea such as Pink Gumpos. Thanks for all t he help.

Judy, my red ruffles also look pretty ratty. Perhaps yours (as well as mine) are getting too much shade? Otherwise, perhaps the variety is just kind of ratty to begin with?

I thought red ruffles are reported to grow 3 - 6 feet tall and wide.

At least I hope that is true, since I planted some along a 6 foot fence, and would love for them to one day get almost as tall as that fence. My Red Ruffles that are doing the best get morning shade from being on the west side of a 6 foot fence and dappled afternoon shade from being on the east side of a mature Scarlet oak tree. Two of my Red Ruffles that get morning shade from the fence but full afternoon sun until 5 or 6pm in the summer are looking stressed but still surviving.

Also, thanks all for the suggestions of low growing, weeping, or creeping cultivars. I have been wondering what to plant under my Daughter's north facing window in The Forth Worth area. The suggestions offered sound great since there is only 2 feet of wall up to the bottom of those windows.

You might want to check on the mature height of 'Red Ruffles', Katrina. I'm no authority on azaleas, but I believe they're considered to be very *low* growers.

judy

It is confusing. there does not seem to be an across the board standardized height predictor. Often times, if challenged, they simply reason that the different heights listed by suppliers or growers is just due to differences in the environment in which the item in question is growing.

That is the same thing I am running into with the azalea. Red Ruffles and with the azalea 'My Mary.'

More times than not find suppliers that list Red Ruffles as 3-6 foot heigh growers and spreaders. With the My Marys more often than not I find suppliers that list them as 3-4 feet growers and speaders. Only with the 'My Mary' I do find suppliers who list them as growing 8 feet tall and wide.

I find that the suppliers do seem to list growth habit fairly accurately.

I have seen Kurume 'Snow' listed as upright growers and that is what mine seem to be doing, as is my friend's Girard cultivars. My Red Ruffles are growing more spread out than the uprights, and I could plant taller background shrubs to reach the fence height just incase they never get taller than lowest height of the different supplier-suggestion. Of course if I crowd the Red Ruffles with such tall competition then that might force them to stay shorter.

I see someone mentioned 'Joseph Hill' and I'd like to mention few others from the same North Tisbury series, 'Pink Pancake' and 'Michael's Hill'.
All three exibit the same characteristics: dense, mounding groundcover-type, about 2'x4' at maturity, very late (for evergreen azaleas) bloom time at the end of June- early July.
Due to density and naturaly rounded form they could be used as a substitute for dwarf ilex crenata 'Hilleri' (Hilleri japanese holly) in a formal settings. Very effective in oriental-type/rock gardens where you have height limitations.

Growth habit is dependent on fertility, moisture, rain patterns, irrigation, fertilization, whether the plant was potted or B&B, the time of year the plant was planted, the number of times it was transplanted, the latitude, prevailing winds, near-by shade, near-by wind breaks, the type of propagation (rooting or tissue culture), pruning and dead heading, the type of nursery the plant came from (cold house, hot house or cold frame) and pinching and fertilization schemes that took place in the nursery, and last but not least, the color of the thumb of the person who planted it.

Even, with all of these factors the same, adjacent plants will grow differently. It may depend upon obscure factors such as the number of leaders each one has or the size of the cutting used originally. Frankly it is a miracle when two plants of the same cultivar are similar in height.

So, as with most everything else, there is the nominal height and width at 10 years which is usually quoted and there is a wide variation from this in actual practice. About all we can do is go by the nominal numbers quoted and note such things as their sensitivities to fertilization, irrigation, light and shade, pinching or pruning, etc. For example, on the East Coast it is considered a drought if it doesn't rain for 2 or three weeks. On the West Coast it is considered normal to not rain for 2 or 3 months in the summer. Hence, people who irrigate will have different results from those the don't. That is one reason why people on one coast will get completely different results from people on the other coast. Of course people in the North get different results from those in the South also.

StevieD
I think your expectations regarding the expected size of a plant at maturity are unrealistic particularly considering your plant zone. But I totally understand the compulsion as I consider myself a color focused gardener to a fault. I could stand and debate the various color shades of any plant with any grower, but I have learned that this is my lonely debate and that the different classifications of color are so subjective that it is totally up to my own minds eye to decide between all the variations in my garden not a catalog description. I must say that my expectations of even my rock garden plants regarding growth rates have never even come close to being as rigid as yours (12" deviation). Perhaps your expectations are too high.
EGO45
I like your suggestion that a ground cover azalea might be a good substitution for a dwarf ilex. When thinking about your comment of the Polly Hill gumpos looking tacky it made me think of how I feel about my tree peony's in bloom ( I can't wait to cut off the flowers)..I guess tacky or good taste is subjective. Your reference to the North Tibury series included Michael Hill (related to Polly not his ownership of a hill) but neglected to mention the tackiest of all Polly Hill gumpos 'yuka' which in my eyes is a unique beauty. It reminds me of each of my teenage daughters when they became brave enough to try and make a fashion statement of their own and looked more like a brash peacock than the truly elegant young women they are. Katy