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Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''
Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nat ...
'', particularly the former sections '' Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''
Pentanthera ''Rhododendron'' subgenus ''Pentanthera'' was a subgenus of the genus ''Rhododendron''. The common name azalea is applied to many of the species, and also to species in some other subgenera. In 2005 it was discontinued and its four sections moved ...
'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and October and November in the Southern Hemisphere), their flowers often lasting several weeks. Shade tolerant, they prefer living near or under trees. They are part of the family
Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...
.


Cultivation

Plant enthusiasts have selectively bred azaleas for hundreds of years. This human selection has produced over 10,000 different cultivars which are propagated by cuttings. Azalea seeds can also be collected and
germinated Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fern ...
. Azaleas are generally slow-growing and do best in well-drained acidic soil (4.5–6.0 pH). Fertilizer needs are low. Some species need regular pruning. Azaleas are native to several continents including Asia, Europe and North America. They are planted abundantly as ornamentals in the southeastern US, southern Asia, and parts of southwest Europe. According to azalea historian Fred Galle, in the United States, ''Azalea indica'' (in this case, the group of plants called Southern indicas) was first introduced to the outdoor landscape in the 1830s at the rice plantation
Magnolia-on-the-Ashley Magnolia Plantation and Gardens (464 acres, 187.77 hectares) is a historic house with gardens located on the Ashley River at 3550 Ashley River Road west of Ashley, Charleston County, South Carolina. It is one of the oldest plantations in t ...
in
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint ...
. From Philadelphia, where they were grown only in
greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...
s, John Grimke Drayton (Magnolia's owner) imported the plants for use in his estate garden. With encouragement from
Charles Sprague Sargent Charles Sprague Sargent (April 24, 1841 – March 22, 1927) was an American botanist. He was appointed in 1872 as the first director of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts, and held the post until his death. He pub ...
from Harvard's Arnold Arboretum, Magnolia Gardens was opened to the public in 1871, following the American Civil War. Magnolia is one of the oldest public gardens in America. Since the late 19th century, in late March and early April, thousands visit to see the azaleas bloom in their full glory.


Classification


Native American azaleas


Disease

Azalea leafy gall can be particularly destructive to azalea leaves during the early spring. Hand picking infected leaves is the recommended method of control. They can also be subject to ''
Phytophthora ''Phytophthora'' (from Greek (''phytón''), "plant" and (), "destruction"; "the plant-destroyer") is a genus of plant-damaging oomycetes (water molds), whose member species are capable of causing enormous economic losses on crops worldwide, a ...
'' root rot in moist, hot conditions. Azaleas share the economically important disease ''
Phytophthora cinnamomi ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'' is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called "root rot", "dieback", or (in certain '' Castanea'' species), "ink disease". The plant pathogen is one of the w ...
'' with more than 3000 other plants.


Pests

Azaleas share the Azalea lace bug (''
Stephanitis pyrioides ''Stephanitis pyrioides'', the azalea lace bug, is a species of lace bug in the family Tingidae. It is found in Africa, Australia, Europe and Northern Asia (excluding China), North America, Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical regio ...
'') with many other heath species. Shrewsbury & Raupp 2000 find azaleas can be protected from them by
companion planting Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing use of space, an ...
with an overstory above them.


Cultural significance and symbolism

In Chinese culture, the azalea is known as "thinking of home bush" (''sixiang shu''), and is immortalized in the poetry of Du Fu. The azalea is also one of the symbols of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Azaleas and rhododendrons were once so infamous for their toxicity that to receive a bouquet of their flowers in a black vase was a well-known death threat.


Toxicity

In addition to being renowned for its beauty, the azalea is also highly toxic—it contains
andromedotoxin Grayanotoxins are a group of closely related neurotoxins named after '' Leucothoe grayana'', a plant native to Japan originally named for 19th century American botanist Asa Gray. Grayanotoxin I (grayanotaxane-3,5,6,10,14,16-hexol 14-acetate) is als ...
s in both its leaves and nectar, including honey from the nectar. Bees are deliberately fed on Azalea/
Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nat ...
nectar in some parts of Turkey, producing a mind-altering, potentially medicinal, and occasionally lethal honey known as " mad honey".


Azalea festivals


Japan

Motoyama, Kōchi 270px, Motoyama town hall 270px, Sameura Dam 270px, central Motoyama is a town located in Nagaoka District, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 3‚318 in 1858 households and a population density of 25 persons ...
also has a flower festival in which the blooming of Tsutsuji is celebrated and
Tatebayashi, Gunma 250px, Tsutsujigaoka Koen, or Azalea Park in Tatebayashi is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 75,442 in 33,589 households, and a population density of 1200 people per km². The total area of the ...
is famous for its Azalea Hill Park, Tsutsuji-ga-oka. Nezu Shrine in Bunkyo, Tokyo, holds a Tsutsuji Matsuri from early April until early May. Higashi Village has hosted an azalea festival each year since 1976. The village's 50,000 azalea plants draw an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 visitors each year.


Korea

Sobaeksan Sobaeksan (Sobaek Mountain) is a mountain of the Sobaek Mountains, in South Korea. It lies between Danyang County in the province of Chungcheongbuk-do and the city of Yeongju in the province of Gyeongsangbuk-do. It has an elevation of .Yu 2007 ...
, one of the 12 well-known
Sobaek Mountains The Sobaek Mountains are a mountain range cutting across the southern Korean peninsula. They split off from the Taebaek Mountains and trend southwest across the center of the peninsula. They are traditionally considered to reach their southwest ...
, lying on the border between
Chungbuk North Chungcheong Province ( ko, 충청북도, ''Chungcheongbuk-do''), also known as Chungbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Chungcheong has a population of 1,578,934 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Hoseo region in the s ...
Province and
Gyeongbuk North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until t ...
has a royal azalea (''
Rhododendron schlippenbachii ''Rhododendron schlippenbachii'', the royal azalea, is a species of ''Rhododendron'' native to the Korean Peninsula and adjacent regions of Manchuria (Liaoning, Nei Mongol), Japan, and the Russian Far East. It is the dominant understory shrub i ...
'') festival held on May every year. Sobaeksan has an azalea colony dotted around Biro mountaintop, Gukmang and Yonwha early in May. When royal azaleas have turned pink in the end of May, it looks like Sobaeksan wears a pink
Jeogori (; ) is a basic upper garment of the , a traditional Korean garment, which has been worn by both men and women. Men usually wear the with a '' baji'' or pants while women wear the with '' chima'', or skirts. It covers the arms and upper part of ...
(Korean traditional jacket).


Hong Kong

The Ma On Shan Azalea Festival is held in
Ma On Shan Ma On Shan may refer to: * Ma On Shan (peak) ( zh, t=馬鞍山, s=马鞍山, l=saddle peak, links=no), a mountain in the New Territories of Hong Kong * Ma On Shan (town), a New Town in the New Territories on the foot of Ma On Shan mountain * Ma ...
, where six native species ('' Rhododendron championae'', '' Rhododendron farrerae'', '' Rhododendron hongkongense'', '' Rhododendron moulmainense'', '' Rhododendron simiarum'' and '' Rhododendron simsii'' ) are found in the area. The festival has been held since 2004; it includes activities such as exhibitions, photo contests and carnivals.


United States

Many cities in the United States have festivals in the spring celebrating the blooms of the azalea, including Summerville, South Carolina; Hamilton, NJ; Mobile, Alabama;
Jasper, Texas Jasper is a city in and the county seat of Jasper County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,884 at the 2020 U.S. Census, down from 7,590 at the 2010 U.S. Census. Jasper is situated in the Deep East Texas subregion, about west of the T ...
;
Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the 33rd most populous city in Texas and 29 ...
; Norfolk, Virginia; Wilmington, North Carolina (
North Carolina Azalea Festival The North Carolina Azalea Festival is an annual community festival in Wilmington, North Carolina. The largest festival of its kind in the state, it was founded in 1948, and takes place in April. History The Azalea Festival began in 1948 as an idea ...
); Valdosta, Georgia; Palatka, Florida (
Florida Azalea Festival The Florida Azalea Festival is a two-day event held annually in Palatka, Florida, on the first weekend of March. The festival celebrates the seasonal arrival of the azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particula ...
);
Pickens, South Carolina Pickens, formerly called Pickens Courthouse, is a city in Pickens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,126 at the 2010 census. Pickens changed its classification from a town to a city in 1998, but it was not reported to the ...
;
Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...
;
Brookings, Oregon Brookings is a city in Curry County, Oregon, United States. It was named after John E. Brookings, president of the Brookings Lumber and Box Company, which founded the city in 1908. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,744. History F ...
; and
Nixa, Missouri Nixa is a city in Christian County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 23,257. It is a principal city, and the second largest city in the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The a ...
. The Azalea Trail is a designated path, planted with azaleas in private gardens, through Mobile, Alabama. The Azalea Trail Run is an annual road running event held there in late March. Mobile, Alabama is also home to the Azalea Trail Maids, fifty women chosen to serve as ambassadors of the city while wearing
antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ar ...
dresses, who originally participated in a three-day festival, but now operate throughout the year. The Azalea Society of America designated Houston, Texas, an "azalea city". The River Oaks Garden Club has conducted the Houston Azalea Trail every spring since 1935. Valdosta, Georgia is called the Azalea City, as the plant grows in profusion there. The city hosts an annual Azalea Festival in March.


See also

*
List of Award of Garden Merit rhododendrons The following is a list of rhododendron cultivars and species which have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. They are mostly hardy evergreen shrubs with abundant, brilliantly-coloured, trumpet-shaped flowers, often in l ...
*
List of plants poisonous to equines Many plants are poisonous to equines; the species vary depending on location, climate, and grazing conditions. In many cases, entire genera are poisonous to equines and include many species spread over several continents. Plants can cause reactio ...


References


External links

*
American Rhododendron Society: What is an Azalea?
{{US state flowers Historically recognized angiosperm genera Plants used in bonsai Rhododendron Shrubs Symbols of Georgia (U.S. state)