The azaela you mentioned is not uncommon. I've seen it a Wagon Wheel in Lexington and I am sure Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton has it. Just call around your area.

The sooner you plant the better. You want the root system to have plenty of time to develop before the temperature gets really low. Bulbs do fine planted through october, and I've melted frozen ground and gotten them in mid november. But even perennials and shrubs are iffy if planted to0 late. The root systems need more time, and the per. are mre likely to get heaved during thaws and freezes. Because NE winters can be nearly snowless (it has happened in recent times) plants are more suseptable to severe snowburn and dessication if that happens. My advice is plant now (don't bother with the sales) and maximize your shrub's chance of success.

Definitely check out Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton. They are the premier grower of azaleas and rhododendrons in New England and will have pretty much anything you want that grows in our climate.

And the answer is...Stewartstonian! I've seen this azalea in bloom in person and it is definitely red without any pink or orange tones in it. It is one of the hardiest members of the Gable hybrid azaleas. It will do fine in z5. As a bonus, the foliage turns dark red in the fall/early winter.

Sorry if I'll sound argunentative, but Stewartstonian is somewhat brick red. Girard's 'Hot Shot' have a nearly identical color and is very common. Check your local HD or Lowe's in September and I'm sure that you'll find nicely grown 2G plant there for $13-15.
It doesn't have that fall color transition as Stewartstonian, but it have another special feature, in spring you'll see combination of young light green leaves, old dark green leaves and the deep red buds at the beginning of the bloom time. Very attractive combo. Then it will be covered by flowers and you'll see no foliage at all.
Hot Shot

Girard's Crimson have a lot of pink in it.

Girard's Red is a dull red, don't go for it.

However, all Girard's cultivars are succeptible to azalea gall, fungal desease that will not kill the plant, but could make it very unappealing.
So, if you'll be going to specialty nursery, buy a Stewartstonian, not a Girard's.

This is all VERY helpful. I did call Weston, which has a long list of azaleas. I was tending towards Girard Crimson til I saw ego's photo; it sure does tend to pink! Any experience with Hino Crimson? That Hot Shot looks good colorwise to me, and availability helps since Weston is quite a haul for me (not to mention their prices).

Do all of these have the same growth habit? I'm looking for about a 3'-4' mounded shrub. Also, the site is north facing. I thought it got a fair amount of morning sun. DH says no (we haven't been here a long time). Will these still bloom in shade?

Big decisions for a novice gardener!

Vicki,

A couple of azaleas that you have mentioned, Hino Crimson and Hinodegiri, are in a class of azaleas known as Kurume hybrids. Personally, I think this is by far the best class of azaleas but they have a couple of drawbacks. Members of this class are very prone to getting powdery mildew. The cold, wet springs in New England invites this type of fungal infection among others. Kurume azaleas really need to be sprayed with an antifungal agent at least a couple of times a year to look their best. The second drawback is that this class is not one of the more cold-hardy classes. I really don't think they are a good choice for a true z5 climate. Having said that, I have seven HinoCrimson azaleas that area still going strong after the two brutally cold winters in '03 and '04 where temps in my z6 routinely got down in the z5 range. They are close to the house, however, and that may have limited their exposure to the cold and wind. Plus, my area had a lot of snow cover those years that helped insulate them, too.
The reason that I recommended Stewartstonian is that it is known to be quite cold-hardy. It is in the family of Gable hybrids which has some very cold-hardy members. The flowers are also a true red without hints of orange or pink or purple which is what you wanted. If you look up photos of it on the internet, you may seem some photos that look orange-red. That's because red flowers are notoriously hard to photography accurately. They often get overexposed and look orange in a picture when they aren't. Trust me, this azalea is red. Brick red is an accurate color but that also makes the color sound dull when it's really not. Stewartstonian is available at most nurseries. Weston nurseries has it among many other types of azaleas. I would recommend waiting until next spring to plant azaleas. That way, you can see their flower color when they are in bloom and they have an entire growing season to get their root system established.
I have two recommendations for planting. Don't dig a hole just barely large enough to accomodate the rootball of your azaleas. I would amend an area of 2 x 2 ft (at least) with some composted cow manure (or just compost) and peat moss. The latter will help make the soil acidic which is strongly preferred by azaleas. The second suggestion is to plant the azalea slightly higher that the surrounding soil. Azaleas have a shallow root system and get especially upset when they are planted too deep. I would add a shallow amount of mulch around the azaleas after they are planted. Make sure they stay moist (not wet!) for several weeks after you plant them. After that, most azaleas are quite tolerant of drought.

Azaleas are typically sun-lovers here in the North and tend to be sparse of bloom and foliage in shade. It would be well to monitor the sun conditions before buying shrubs. It is surprising how often we can be wrong about this on our own properties. It helps to keep a "sun record", noting sun/shade every two hours from 8am to 6pm, and to make such a sun record for the various seasons. I've been amazed at how wrong I've been--and how conditions change over a few years as trees grow, for instance.

Hino Crimson (if you'll be able to find the real one, not a widely available impersonators called Hino Crimson) will worth all the money you'll spend on it (and that is not going to be cheap, believe me), but I highly doubt it will work for you in z5.
Kurume azaleas are generally hardy to z6 and to z5 with protection, but HC need a lot of sun in a summer and that does not combines well with winter protection requirement.
I don't want to discourage you, but this azalea is not for beginners.
Any Girard's or Stewartstonia will be no brainer in comparison.

I agree with t-oracle, better wait for the spring and see color in your own eyes.
Well, than you might not stop by buying only one. They all look fantastic when in bloom...
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That is breathtaking, George. Is that your garden? If so, you should be charging admission!

tree oracle, thanks so much for the detailed information about the Stewartstonian - very convincing. As a new gardener with a large property, I'm interested in non-fussy plants and it sure sounds like a better bet than the Hino azaleas. I also appreciate the advice about waiting til spring, underscored by ginny's advice to study the sun before I plant. So I'm going to take all this advice and wait til spring. I think I've been having one of those how-much-can-I-get-done-before-the-end-of-the-season frenzies and that's pretty silly.

Of course I could get into even more trouble in the spring when I see all those plants in bloom and remember George's gorgeous photo . . . .:)

If you're near western MA, check out Sugarloaf Nurseries in Sunderland. Most of their material is grown in MA Z5 and they have acres of stuff. Quality material and inexpensive.

Another option if you need 20 of them or so is to check out Bluestone's shrub selection. Their shrubs have always been true to description. Benefit of starting from "twigs with roots" is that you can get a lot at once for even growth, and prune them the way You want them.

I agree to wait until Spring. I'm okay with azaleas but haven't had great luck with Fall planting.

Martie

So I was looking for azaela info and found this thread. There is some great information here for azaela newbies.

Wow Ego what a photo. If you don't mind my asking are the large white blooming plants azaela's a well? There so cool as a backdrop. Larger and the white sets all the color off perfectly.

Lisa

Yes, those are azaleas (about 25-30 years old Pleasant White, I believe).
Whatever is not azalea in this bed it's either pieris which blooms earlier or kalmias which blooms later :-)

So happy that someone kept this thread going. I made my notes on azaleas to seek out, buying them where/when I find them, but probably waiting for spring to plant them.

As always, someone has asked a question on Gardenweb that has answers I'm looking for! Thanks for all the input! Years later the info about Azaleas is very useful to me. Now to find such a specimen in BC...

It's so funny you should post about this old thread. I re-read it just a couple weeks ago with great interest as I was trying to decide which shrub to buy. I read through the whole thing before I realized that I started it! LOL!

It clinched the decision for me, though. I bought a Stewartsonian just a couple weeks ago, and followed tree_oracle's planting instructions exactly. So helpful!