Mid-Atlantic Gardening: A true Azalea, Oconee, 1 by Rickwebb

Rickwebb wrote:
The Oconee Azalea is native to the Carolinas and Georgia, but grows well farther north thru USDA Zone 6. I bought one from Redbud Native Plant Nursery in Glen Mills, PA, about 8 years ago as a small container plant, now it is about 6 feet high. I am very unhappy with botanists because they still have not properly divided up the huge genus of Rhododendron. Most of them are "splitters" designating more species than I would, while I am a "lumper" who sees very similar plants as being the same species, so less species. However, they should spIit up into three different genera: true rhododendrons, true azaleas, and evergreen azaleas. I would have the scientific name of the Oconee as Azalea flammea instead of Rhododendron flammeum. Oconee is a true azalea because it has stout stems, upright habit, and deciduous leaves. The evergreen azaleas are only from east Asia and have slender, very stiff stems and twigs and tiny evergreen leaves. I love evergreen azaleas as florist plants, but not as landscape plants because I don't like their stiff, bushy habit that in time gets messy and often has azaleas lacebugs. The true azaleas are higher quality plants with cleaner habits. Two photos of my specimen blooming still this May 2014. Also in May one of my customers has a white blooming Pinxterbloom Azalea, Azalea periclymenoides or A. nudiflora in the last two photos.