Exbury Azalea leaves turned dark red

10 years ago

I had this orange Exbury Azalea planted this spring. It had green
leaves. Slowly over the past two months, the leaves have all changed to
a ruddy red. Except for the color, the leaves look healthy. When it
started turning, I assumed I was under watering it, but more water did
not keep it green. All the Google images I looked at (where foliage was
visible) had green leaves. Are they supposed to turn red?

It resides in a shady place... a spot that I'm not sure if it has enough
sun, but my landscaper suggested the plant for that location. It is in
rich and soft soil (being a novice, I don't know how to describe soil
in "gardener"). It is right next to a large and mature sword fern and a
mature rhodie, plus geraniums filling in the rest of the space. All
the other plants have been there for years and continue to do quite
well. Isn't it the same soil requirements for rhodies as for azaleas?
It started to turn after in the ground for a month or so.

Featured Answer

akamainegrower

10 years ago

This would be normal in the fall, but not now. The leaves of most deciduous azaleas turn various shades of red, yellow or orange before dropping. It is possible, even likely, that dryness triggered premature coloration. Once that process starts, it can't be reversed by more watering. Soil requirements for azaleas and rhododendrons are pretty much the same. Deciduous azaleas need a good deal more sun than broad leaved rhododendrons, however. 'Exbury', btw, indicates a general class of azaleas. Within that class are many different varieties with different flower colors, growth patterns, etc. Knowing which variety you have will tell you a good deal about ultimate size and other important characteristics. As for what to do now, your instinct to move the plant to a sunnier place is accurate. After that, if you choose to do it, treat as you would any new planting, but be prepared for an early dormancy. It's also quite possible that it will put out additional growth of the normal green color.

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Comments (8)

Mike McGarvey
10 years ago
It looks like healthy new growth to me.

mike
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akamainegrower
10 years ago
miketann: Possibly you are correct, but I have never seen green growth change to the ruddy color in the picture except when temperature and day length initiates senescens - assuming a normal seasonal change rather than some other cause. The opposite - new colorful growth changing to green -would be more the rule. If you look at the lower right foreground in the photo, you can see some green leaves with the beginnings of the red coloration around the edges.
Chris G.
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the help. I'm going to leave it where it is. It does get 3-4 hours full sun. But I'll not water it until it's mostly dry, then fully water it, repeating all summer (if leaves remain). Is that a good idea? Should I fertilize it, or not because it might be stressed now?
akamainegrower
10 years ago
It would be best if you check the root ball even if you are leaving the azalea where it is. Even moisture delivered directly to the roots would be a better plan than allowing the roots to become mostly dry before watering. Peat-based planting media dries rapidly and can be very resistant to rewetting. It also shrinks as it dries creating a gap between the root ball and the surrounding native soil which compounds the difficulties of rewetting. The leaves currently look healthy, so digging, soaking and replanting may not be necessary, but at least check the root area with your hand/fingers. Fertilizer is unnecessary and undesirable.
Chris G.
Original Author
10 years ago
The plant was planted by landscapers, and they used amendment. I dug down only about 5 inches, all moist, and I pressed down on the top of the root ball; there was no give at all, so I think it's planted properly. Today it actually might look like some of the red is changing back to green, maybe more on the top, but I need another day or three to see if it is my imagination.
Jean
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
It's stressed.

Most common reason for such stress in recently planted woodies is water, typically too little to the original rootball.
Chris G. thanked Jean
Wendy Walbrecht
4 years ago
Hi Chris. I came across this post while googling for deciduous azalea varieties that have naturally reddish leaves. Yes there are at least a couple, Mary Poppins and Fire Ball are known for that. I wanted to know if there are any more with those genetics. I had one of unknown parentage like that but it was stolen from me, by an aquaintance no less. It was growing among several other varieties with leaves that stay the normal green. It was a very special plant and I really would like to ID it and replace it. Like yours the leaves were a very healthy looking dark reddish, so no worries.