Dwarf Azaleas

18 years ago

Does anyone grow these? What are the best cultivars? I see lots of big azaleas around the neighborhood but not so many of the dwarfs.

I remember once back when I knew absolutely nothing about gardening I put a dwarf azalea in the ground and it was one of the few plants that did well for me. It stayed only a foot and half tall or so. It bloomed a lot and even looked good when it wasn't blooming. It stayed thick and bushy even when some of the bigger azaleas got leggy and open. Of course I don't remember the cultivar.

Now, walking around my neighborhood, I see some dwarf azaleas that look pretty sad much of the year. Most of these are not well taken care of though.

I'm planning to plant these under some cabbage palms. It's long been a trouble spot for me and now I'm thinking about landscaping it when dwarf azaleas and mondo. I need some more stability in the garden anyway.

If anyone knows of a better plant than the dwarf azalea, I'm open for suggestions. It needs to be low, heat and freeze tolerant, low, shade tolerant, low, pretty much evergreen, and low. I would like it to bloom at some point, and, oh, it needs to be low.

I'm about on the 9A/9B border, and azaleas grow pretty much wild here, though some look much better than others.

Thanks,

Bill

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Comments (4)

lellie
18 years ago
Hi Bill...
This is my dwarf azalea taken almost 3 years ago when it was still in a large pot...

I planted it a couple of months ago...in full sun...and it is doing great.
I'll try to get a shot of it today so you can see how its doing now.
I wish I knew the name of it...sorry.

Its a beautiful little shrub that needs not much care at all except an occasional feeding and lots and lots of water.
alexia1980
18 years ago
Not sure about many dwarf azaleas as most of mine just can't take the heat where I live, but the one azalea that's done well for me is the coral bells azalea. It flowers a deep pink and I've had it for about two years now and it's approximately 2 1/2 feet tall.
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castorp
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks for the responses.

Alexia, do you remember which cultivars of your dwarf azaleas couldn't take the heat? My mother grows coral bells up in Georgia. Love the color. Do yours get open or stay bushy?

Lellie, I hope the dwarf azaleas I choose look as good as yours.

I've been doing some research. I put some of it here in case anyone else in interested.

According to Brandies' and Chaplin's "Book of Lists," these are good cultivars of dwarf azaleas for Florida:

Celestine
Coral Bells
Happy Days
Madonna
Pink and White
Red Ruffle
Wakaebisu
White Duc

All of these are supposed to stay at two or three feet.

"Gumpo" dwarf azaleas are listed in one of their lists for groundcovers. I've been researching these. There seem to be several colors, whites through pinks.

I believe the superdwarf azalea I planted years ago at another house must be "Hexe"--judging from the pictures.

Most of these cultivars (I think but I'm not sure) are Kurumes. Here is a university of Florda page on those:

http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/shrubs/RHOOBTA.PDF

The trouble is the I have no first hand experience with any of these.

I'm going to try to talk to some people at good nurseries around the area and see what they say.

Thanks again.

Bill
alexia1980
18 years ago
Well, the two that I remember well off the top of my head was the Deleware Valley that I tried about two years ago, never even got it into the ground: death was instant :( The Conversation Piece lasted about two months before it seemed to just give up. I even had one of the nursery men who was a friend of my dad's come and look at it, and he tried to help but it didn't make it. I was sad about that one; it was my favorite.

The Coral Bells is what I would say on the bushy side. They're so beautiful, I hope to plant a few more this fall since this one has done so well.