Rhododendrons and Azaleas
Probably no other group of plants elicits as much devotional praise and obsessional frustration as the genus Rhododendron. Where they can be grown, few plants can match their bewildering variety of striking, profuse, often brilliant flowers, outstanding form, and attractive foliage.
Rhododendron is an extensive genus, with more than 900 species and 10,000 varieties. Azalea is a series within the Rhododendron genus. There are evergreen and deciduous, small- and large-leafed, and dwarf and tall forms of these plants. The range of colors is endless, including solid and bicolored blossoms; some have a heady perfume. Depending on the variety and location, rhododendrons and azaleas bloom from late winter to midsummer.
Botanists are still arguing over exactly what anatomical characteristics separate Azalea from Rhododendron. While many azaleas are deciduous, and most rhododendrons are evergreen, both azaleas and rhododendrons have deciduous and evergreen species. A common misconception is that azaleas are always smaller in form and leaf than rhododendrons, while in fact several rhododendrons are tiny, rock-garden dwarfs with leaves smaller than any azalea. Sizes of both plants vary from 8 to 80 inches.
There is, however, one significant difference be tween rhododendrons and azaleas—namely, where the buds are located. Rhododendron buds are always found just above the leaf rosette; on azaleas, the buds are concealed under the bark along the entire branch. This difference influences the kind of pruning each type needs.
The reputation of rhododendrons and azaleas as finicky, frustrating plants is misleading. If planted in a favorable location and given proper growing conditions, these plants are easy, care-free, and long-lived. The trick is in creating those favorable growing conditions.
