Quick Guide: spring, hardy, semi-shade, height:1.8m/6ft, width: 1.5m/5ft

Azaleas are types of rhododendrons, but generally smaller; the deciduous azaleas do not have scaly leaves, and the so-called evergreens actually drop some leaves in autumn. The showy flowers are bell-, funnel- or saucer-shaped.

GROWING Treat as hybrids. Shade for the root-run can be provided by low shrubs. To prune, remove only weak growths and shorten the remainder by two thirds.

PROPAGATION Deciduous azaleas may be increased by layering, rhododendrons (hardy hybrids), Kurume and other evergrecn azaleas from cuttings. Take cuttings from young growths in summer and place in a mixture of sand and sifted peat at 2:1 in a cold frame. When firmly rooted pot up in a compost consisting of equal parts (by volume) of sifted peat, leaf-mould, lime-free loam and sand. Keep lightly moist, protect over winter and plant out in nursery beds in spring. The compact root system makes transplanting easy. In fact, if a plant outgrows its site, it is sometimes better to move it than prune it.

SPECIES Evergreens (give shelter from cold winds): `Palestrina' (above), pure white; 'Orange Beauty', soft orange; `Fedora', deep pink. Kurume hybrids (small glossy leaves, slightly tender): `Kirin', rose-pink; `Hinodegiri', carmine-red. Ghent~azaleas (deciduous, hardy, fragrant): `Corneille', double flowers, cream flushed pink; `Narcissiflora', primrose yellow.

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS Rhododendrons leafhopper causes bud-blast disease; rhododendron bugs suck up from the leaves. azalea whitefly infest the undersides of the leaves.