Deep glossy leaves with stunning flowers in a wide range of colours, once an incredibly popular house and garden plant they are still grown in big quantities. You can often find them on special offer.
Not all azaleas are the same, you can split them into two main groups evergreen or deciduous ( no leaves in winter). They all flower in the spring and are very fussy when it comes to soil, it must be slightly acidic or they won’t grow.
There are two kinds of evergreen azalea, Indian azaleas (not hardy) sold as houseplants often labelled “indica” and a garden azalea based on Japanese hybrids often labelled “japonica or jap” Azalea mollis has no leaves through the winter, in the spring it is covered in flowers.
They are perfect for cool windowsills, conservatories porches or anywhere cool but frost-free. They will flower for 4 or 5 weeks if kept cool and can be kept and made to flower the next year without too much trouble.
As a garden plant they are very fussy when it comes to soil, it must be slightly acidic or they won’t grow. As a house plant, they need to be kept cool.
