Very pretty and I concur, it should smell as nice as it looks. Oh, well.

You may want to try smelling early in the morning to see if that helps. My late mother could hardly smell rose fragrances! Sometimes she said she got a wiff of one but I wonder if it was because of all the trouble that I would go though. ☺

Why is it restricted if it’s native? Can you share sources for native azaleas?

Why is it restricted if it is native? The native range is greatly influenced by glacial activity.

Can you share sources for native azaleas? I would begin HERE

All the planets lined up for me this year and I got good germination. Seed capsules collected in October, let them dry slightly and shake the seed out. Sow seed as shown here and put them outside for winter. They germinate following April. Deciduous azaleas in particular only have one flush of growth so they are VERY slow to get to saleable size. Species azaleas like this are not profitable for most nurserymen to bother with.

05-21-20 pic taken in local state park.

There are several colonies of roseshell & pixterbloom scattered throughout the park. Their companions are witchhazel & mt. laurel. Bloom period is fleeting several flowers on the plant below already ave fallen.