The peak azalea flowering time is early to mid May, but some species flower as early as April and as late as frost in autumn. Azaleas have a wide variety of flower colors including orange, yellow, red, pink and white. Many species are not only colorful but also fragrant. Others are at home in moist, streamside locations. Rhodora is found from New England to the Maritime Provinces of Canada.
Western azalea grows entirely west of the Mississippi and is found from California to Washington.
R. eastmanii is a new native found only in a few counties in South Carolina. This new discovery in November 1999 has a population of only 500 known plants. Hybrids bring diversity to the repository collection. When we refer to a hybrid here, we mean a plant resulting from the cross of two different species. There are many natural hybrids found among the native azaleas and a number are featured in the Arboretum collection.