Azaleas , azaleas, azaleas! They are everywhere this time of year. I've never photographed any of the cultivated ones because I know there are so many different varieties. I can't hope to learn the different varieties without a lot of work. So with that said give me some help, and let the work begin so I can start my learning process on these devils. Beautiful devils, that is.



Inaturalist came up with Rhododendron mucronulatum, Korean azalea as first in its list. It was growing in the wild along the creek bank in Aberdeen lake park but I know it's in an escape from somewhere. It's definitely a cultivated variety because I see them everywhere. I think I even have 1 of them in my yard (I have 2 different plants in my yd I gotta get a learn about them too). Help me out on this 1 so I can start working on the others. As always, thanks for information in advance.

I used to grow many Rhododendrons in previous garden.
Species and named cultivars.
Including ones commonly called Azalea...both evergreen and deciduous.
But would never offer any advice on how to id them.
Quote www....."There are more than 1200 different natural species in the Genus"
Maybe others can offer some sage tips.
below are pics of..
RHODODENDRON MUCRONULATUM CORNELL PINK

SS!

PS.
Your shrub appears to have green leaves ....therefore must be evergreen.
My Rhodo mucronulatum Cornell Pink is 100% deciduous.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
They are really hard to id in real life...let alone from pics.
Sorry.
Try easier shrubs!

Possibly Southern Indica 'Formosa'. Color looks about right with the spots in the center of the upper petals.

No way could I ever ID them. Just put them in the generic rhodie entry.

Definitely an evergreen Indica Azalea (Rhododendron indicum). Unless the color of the photo is off, it isn't 'Formosum', which is more on the purple side of magenta. It's hard to capture some azalea colors, though, so it's not impossible.

We have one that borders our neighbor's yard which looks like it's that same bright pink, and it's always the first to bloom (February here). I don't know the variety, though.

Near here is Glendoick Gardens..owned by the Cox family.
The gardens are open to visitors in April and May.
I have visited it on many occasions.
3 generations of plant hunters that collected/grew Rhododendrons.
Kenneth Cox travels the world to id Rhododendrons in collections and has written books on it.
"Born in 1964 into a family of renowned plantsmen, Kenneth Cox is grandson of planthunter, writer and nurseryman Euan Cox and son of Peter Cox VMH. The three generations were and are considered the world's leading experts on rhododendrons. "
He says...."With 900 Species and almost 30,000 named cultivars, identifying rhododendrons is a skilled job which only a handful of people are qualified to do. "

My pics in albums A -Z.on flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/search/...


https://www.google.com/search?...
https://glendoick.com/identify...

Silversurfer said: Near here is Glendoick Gardens..owned by the Cox family.
The gardens are open to visitors in April and May.
I have visited it on many occasions.
3 generations of plant hunters that collected/grew Rhododendrons.
Kenneth Cox travels the world to id Rhododendrons in collections and has written books on it.
"Born in 1964 into a family of renowned plantsmen, Kenneth Cox is grandson of planthunter, writer and nurseryman Euan Cox and son of Peter Cox VMH. The three generations were and are considered the world's leading experts on rhododendrons. "
He says...."With 900 Species and almost 30,000 named cultivars, identifying rhododendrons is a skilled job which only a handful of people are qualified to do. "

My pics in albums A -Z.on flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/search/...


https://www.google.com/search?...
https://glendoick.com/identify...

I'm sure Mr. Cox is right about the difficulties of Rhody species identification. Botanists have moved Rhododendron species about for centuries, and it's unlikely they are finally finished. Who can blame horticulturalists for throwing up their hands at the vagaries of botanists, and having their own ways of classifying garden species and hybrids? Even some botanists think Azalea should not have been lumped in with Rhododendron, and there might be something to say for having two incredibly messy genera, instead of one incredibly messy bigger genus?

Indica Azaleas are ubiquitous in the Southeastern U.S. I have dozens of them here, and there are few old homes in the Carolinas that don't have them (unless they were removed later by homeowners wanting more grass to mow). There are any number of Azalea Festivals in the Southeast that keep having to move their schedules up because the azaleas open earlier than they used to thanks to climate change.

I certainly can't ID most Rhododendron species because most won't grow here (too hot), but the OP's photo is a familiar sight. It looks just like the Formosa Azaleas I grew up with and currently have blooming here, except for the color. 'Formosa' does have a red sport, and there's apparently a pink sport in commerce also?: https://www.wilsonbrosgardens....
https://landscapeofus.com/form...

As for terminology, Southerners call heat-tolerant evergreen azaleas 'Indica', so it's more of a horticultural class. To muddy the waters, there are two similarly named Rhody species: R. formosanum and R. Formosum, but the American Rhododendron Society opines that the Formosa Azalea might be (see link below) a Phoenicium hybrid, and CoL says that Azalea indica var. phoenicium is now R. x pulchellum.
https://www.rhododendron.org/d...

And then there's this article (pdf link) from someone who tried to figure it all out: https://www.azaleas.org/wp-con...

This clears everything up nicely, right?

Interesting history on the vagaries of azaleas and rhododendrons SS. Yeah I lived in Wilmington for like 10 years and we had the azalea festival every spring. And you're right everywhere in my area you see them; on the side of roads, in ditches, in people's yd and of course all around shopping centers.
After reading all the comments from folks I think I'm gonna set this goal of learning rhodies aside for now. I've learned a lot reading those comments though.

Cancelled post

A few old-school Indica Azaleas that might be that color pink: 'Pink Pearl', 'Maxwellii', 'Judge Solomon' and 'Southern Charm'. The shape of the flowers on "your" plant might be more fluted than 'Formosa' and its sports?

An addendum to the long, overly complicated post above is that I mistook the azalea cultivar 'Phoeniceum' for the similarly named species (which is no longer accepted). So probably best to just ignore that bit about R. x pulchellum...

According to the International Rhododendron Register, 'Phoeniceum' is an "evergreen azalea cultivar: perhaps a form of scabrum or scabrum x mucronatum N: G. Don (1834),
INC: ICRA (1958) Flowers single, 2-3/truss, 70mm wide, vivid purplish red, with darker dorsal spotting; stamens 10, with short filaments. Shrub to 2.0m or more. Syn: 'Rawsonii' (Probably originating in Japan, introduced to England from Canton, China, in 1824)
https://www.rhodogroup-rhs.org...

Meandmyroses said: Azalea japonica Vuyks rosy red. That's the azalea Web has posted.
Have this in my garden, probably twenty year's or more.
I also have Vuyks scarlet.
Hardly ever see them for sale these days.
John


It's on the far right of this pic, below the purple flowered one.
And there are what looks like, four examples of Vuyks scarlet,
All one plant in fact!! Starts with the tall one and goes anti clock.
This might be a better view.

I don't see any link in the database. Or would it be a new entry?

An apostrophe makes all the difference!
Evergreen Azalea (Rhododendron 'Vuyk's Rosyred')
Evergreen Azalea (Rhododendron 'Vuyk's Scarlet')

And @Meandmyroses, I'm assuming the two Amazon lawnmower photos were an error?

Calif_Sue said:

And @Meandmyroses, I'm assuming the two Amazon lawnmower photos were an error?

Thought moderators would have deleted these.

Unless it's something offensive, I usually wait to hear back of intentions.

Cancelled post.

I don't think being a mod comes with the power to intuit if a pic was accidentally included, or if there was a point but it was just forgotten to be included in the post.

Calif_Sue said: An apostrophe makes all the difference!
Evergreen Azalea (Rhododendron 'Vuyk's Rosyred')
Evergreen Azalea (Rhododendron 'Vuyk's Scarlet')

And @Meandmyroses, I'm assuming the two Amazon lawnmower photos were an error?

Thank you! Sue!
I think Meandmyroses just forgot to crop the screenshots.