Webinar: Gardening with Azaleas, Camellias and Rhododendrons

What Azaleas, Camellias and Rhododendrons have in common

• Soil needs: drainage, pH, organic matter
• Sun exposure: morning or filtered/dappled
• Water needs: irrigation in the dry season (exception: well established Camellias)
• Soil for containers
• Fertilizer
• Soil acidifiers (sulfur, peat moss)

Azalea (two section of the genus Rhododendron, Azaleas have 5 stamens, generally have hairy leaves and are generally shrubs to or less than about 6 feet tall)

• Evergreen
  • Belgian indica (“florist azaleas”)
  • Southern indica
  • Kurume
  • Re-blooming
• Deciduous
  • Exbury and Knapp Hill hybrids
  • Rhododendron occidentale and hybrids

Rhododendron (evergreen and deciduous shrubs to trees in genus Rhododendrobn having generally smooth leaves and 10 stamens, sizes vary from low and compact to very tall and rangy)

• Evergreen hybrids

Camellia (mostly large evergreen shrubs but varying from 4 to 12 feet tall

• Camellia japonica
• Camellia sasanqua
• Hybrids
• Camellia sinensis (tea)

Good companions for Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Camellias

• Pieris Mahonia
• Ferns Some Viburnums (mostly deciduous)
• Sarcococca (“Sweet Box”) Dogwood
• Heuchera (Coral Bells) Japanese and Vine maple
• Groundcovers Boxwood if filtered sun (not full shade)

Problems

• Aphids on camellia
• Camellia petal blight
• Thrip on Azalea and Rhododendron
• Root rot in Azalea and Rhododendron