While mums and pumpkins may be the traditional standards for fall decorating and landscaping, why limit yourself? Add color and beauty to the fall scene by using Encore azaleas!
Thanks to the long blooming season provided by Encore Azaleas, they are gorgeous from spring through fall, which makes them an ideal choice in landscapes or in containers for fall decorating. After all, each of the 29 Encore varieties have “autumn” in their names, so why not use them in autumn?
The options for decorating with fall azaleas are almost endless.
Fill pots and window boxes with them, or mingle them with other traditional fall foliage, plants and with gourds and pumpkins on a table or front porch. Clip flowers to use in arrangements and lace into wreaths and other holiday decorations. Or plant them in the yard for fall landscape color that, because the leaves are evergreen, will still look beautiful even in the dead of winter.
Picking the right one—or ones—for your needs may be the biggest challenge, but with a little thought about your decorating and landscaping goals Encore azaleas let you express yourself in the home and garden almost year-round.
Looking for something that fits in the traditional fall color scheme?
Try the richly colored and deeply burnished hues of Encore’s Autumn Bravo, Ruby or Sunset. But don’t limit yourself to those. The pink, purple and coral Encores—in combination or alone—can lend a fresh color palette to fall, and pure white Encores such as Autumn Angel and Autumn Moonlight are ideal for mixing in with other colors or using alone to create a serene and luminescent arrangement.
If size is a primary consideration, use one of the seven dwarf Encore varieties in containers, which you can keep potted year-round to use inside the house or on a porch or patio in warmer weather. However, even the 12 intermediate or six larger Encore varieties can be purchased now as smaller, younger plants, used in containers, then transplanted into the yard next spring. For an Encore Azalea sizing guide, click here.
The trick to making sure azaleas work well in containers is to use a pot that gives them plenty of room to put down roots and grow. Should they outgrow that pot, simply transplant them into a larger pot and keep them forever as a container plant. For tips on container planting your Encore Azaleas, click here.
While potted azaleas are blooming, keep their soil moist, but not constantly soggy or wet, and place them in a spot that has bright but indirect light, does not get too hot or cold (around 70 degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime and 45 to 50 degrees at night are ideal) and is free from strong drafts or winds that might blow off the blooms (avoid placing them near a vent, for example).
Once they finish blooming, move them to a spot with indirect morning light and no drafts, continue to keep their soil moist and give them a dose of liquid fertilizer (choose one that is specifically for azaleas and other acid-loving plants) about every two weeks until they begin to set blooms for the coming year.
Of course Encore azaleas are also great for the fall yard, and fall is an excellent time to plant azaleas.
Just get them in the ground several weeks before the first hard freeze (certainly before the ground freezes), water them well those first few weeks before freezing temperatures set in so they can establish a strong root system and mulch them to protect the new plants from low winter temperatures. For Encore Azalea planting tips, click here.
Whatever you choose, Encore azaleas will provide you year-round pleasure and beauty and even help satisfy those gardening urges throughout the year whether it’s cold outside or not.
For Encore Azalea planting instructions, click here.
To view the full Encore Azalea Collection, click here.
Encore Azalea is the best azalea you'll ever plant. Encore Azaleas are the world's best-selling reblooming azalea with rich, colorful blooms in spring, summer and fall. Encore Azaleas have 29 varieties of bloom colors and sizes to choose from. Plant them in your garden and enjoy sustainable color season after season.
