Evening star., 1932-05-01
AZALEAS


early Spring is the gorgeous aZaleas.
More and more this plant is being used
by home owners about the city for
decorative effects. One striking char
acteristic Of the azalea is the fact that
1t comes into bloom at very early age.
One may see little plants scarcely
inches tall just a mass Of brilliant
color. The following, portion OF an
address given by Guy E. YerkeS Of the
Department of Agriculture before the
Hyattsville Horticultural Society, is pre-
Sented because of it's authentic and
practical value
THE aZaleas offer many species and
varieties for garden planting that sue
ceed well here. All have merit, and II
all Of them could be had at a reason
able cost, a choice would be bewilder-
ing. Nurserymen offer enough, how
ever, to give us a gorgeous display in
April and May.
The fame azalea CA. calendulacea)
from the Southern Appalachians is per-
haps the most beautiful American
species. The flowers are orange to light
yellow in April or early May. Rhodora
"a. canadensiS) has lavender flowers in
May. This aZalea requires plenty OF
moisture to do well. Sweet azalea GA.
arborescens) has fragrant white flowers
IN May. Swamp azalea "a. viscosa)
resembles the preceding in growth, but
with a color range from light pink to
white. 1t grows wild from Maine to
Carolina. 1t blooms in June or July
here, after new foliage has developed.
Pink shell azalea "a. vaseyD from
South Carolina blooms earlier than the
other native sorts. 1t is one of the
most profuse Towering species. in color
rose pink to white. The pinXter flower
"a nudif1ora) is common in nearby
woods. 1t does we'll also in cultivation
and can be pruned to develop into
rather compact shrub. The Chinese
species include several Of the most de-
sirable and beautiful, among which are
Chinese azalea GA mollis), shrub 4
or feet high with yellow flowers OF
several shades blooming few weeks
earlier than the flame aZalea; amoena
azalea CA. amoena), an evergreen here,
turning browny green in Winter. The
growth is very compact and dense,
making a handsome shrub the year
round. The flowers are reddish magenta.
a shade perhaps not as attractive as
some others, but are produced In
abundance in April. The varieties
hinodegiri, bright scarlet, and hinomayo,
soft pink, resemble A. amoena in plant
characters with more brilliant colorS.
Torch azalea "a kaemferl is one OF
the most snowy species, ranging in color
from deep orange to light pink. 1t
blooms lust as the leaves are starting
and its rather erect growth helps to
disolay the flowers to advantage. 1ndica
alba and indica roSea are evergreen
and develop a spreading form with
white or rose flowers about lncneS
in diameter. The white Is regarded as
the harder In Meridian Park II Is
thriving in full sunlight. and besides us
display of flowers in April, Is hand
some shrub at all times.
"a race of aZaleaS OF which A.
amoena. Hinodegiri and Hinomayo are
older examples from Japan, known as
Kurume AzaleaS because they were de-
veloped by a Japanese amateur at the
city of Kurume. comprise number ot
named varieties with dehghtiul range
of clear colors in red. pink and white
They are less hardy than those preW-
ously mentioned but some OF them nave
withstood the Winters here Tor seVeral
years. OF course, these have well-nigh
unpronounceable japanese names. put
fortunately some of these have been
Several of these varieties,
including Christmas Cheer, Debutante,
Coral Bells, Day Break, Apple Blossom
and others, have grown in the open
for the past three years in nursery
near Rockville. The plants are almost
covered with flowers in April. Some
times during a wet Autumn they make
a rapid second growth with the
branches full of sap and frost while
they are in this condition will split the
bark For this reason growth should
be checked in late Summer by with
holding water and for this reason they
should have a mulch Of leaves in Au-
tumn almost covering them. AS they
make low compact shrubs this protec-
tion is easily supplied.
Soil having an acid reaction is
necessary for the propagation and cul-
ture of rhododenrons and azaleas and
is one of the main points wherein their
culture requirements differ from those
of the more familiar trees and shrubs.
The most favorable degree of soil acid
ity Is that classed by soil chemists as
'sub-acid' and they express this by the
formula pH5. but it may vary either !
way somewhat and still maintain sat
iSfactory growth.