There is no plant in North America as quintessential to the Southern garden as the azalea. Blanketed in blooms each spring, azaleas paint the landscape in vivid azalea colors: pink, purple, white, salmon, and red. Entire towns erupt with color as these beloved shrubs mark the changing of seasons. Spring azalea festivals are organized and garden parties planned to celebrate Southern charm in full bloom, with the azalea taking center stage.
Alas, all good things come to an end. Petals fall, the heat of summer sets in and azaleas fade into the background. There the azaleas grow and wait, biding time until next season’s show, their sturdy evergreen leaves a backdrop to other summer blooming plants. Then, this changed …with the introduction of the Encore Azaleas, flowering shrubs that deliver more of the azalea colors that we all love — in spring, summer and fall.
Rebloom and Repeat
Gardeners want plants that perform not just once in a season, but throughout the year. With repeat blooming, multi-season blooming Encore Azaleas keep the show going. Like other azaleas, Encore Azalea produces an explosion of spring blossoms.
But the blooms don’t stop there. After a period of growth, the second flush of flowers emerge mid-summer and continue opening through fall, rewarding gardeners again and again.
Sun-Loving and Cold-Hardy
Although the ability to rebloom was a primary breeding objective in developing Encore Azaleas, these hybrid azaleas also exhibit superior sun tolerance and cold hardiness. These types of azaleas can be grown in full sun and most Encore Azalea varieties are hardy to USDA hardiness zone 6, making them suitable for many parts of the United States.
Azaleas from Small to Tall
Despite their exuberant blooming, these spring, summer and fall blooming azaleas are as elegant as any Southern Belle. The collection includes 31 varieties that vary in size and habit, offering endless ways to incorporate Encore Azaleas into the landscape.
Dwarf varieties like Autumn Chiffon™ and Autumn Lilac® are excellent for small spaces, mass planting or container gardens. Intermediate varieties like Autumn Moonlight® with her white flowers and Autumn Monarch™ with her orange-pink blooms grow faster and taller and are perfect for accents and hedges. With so much variety, gardeners can add this iconic shrub to any landscape regardless of size.
Endless Entertainment
All azaleas in the collection have evergreen foliage so they never leave the winter garden looking drab. The winter foliage of a few selections turns a rich purple hue in winter, keeping the glamor going. The purple-leaved gems include a dwarf variety, Autumn Princess® that produces ruffled pink flowers. Growing to four feet tall and wide, the large blossoms and stunning foliage of Autumn Amethyst® and Autumn Jewel® add drama to the garden year-round.
Easy Elegance
Encore Azaleas offers more of what you love in an azalea: more blooms, more often. And you don’t have to work hard to cultivate that classic Southern look. Encore Azaleas are trusted to be robust landscape shrubs with low maintenance needs. So why not pot-up a little Southern charm today?
