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Azalea & Rhododendron

Best aspect for azaleas and rhodies

15 years ago

What is the best aspect for azaleas and rhodies. My house is aligned N-S, so I have a S wall with plenty of sun, a N wall with no sun, an E wal with morning sun, and a W wall with afternoon sun. Which would be best, or does it depend on the cultivar?

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Comment (1)

rhodyman
15 years ago
It depends on the cultivars. Some will take full sun while others get lace bugs or sunburn. A few will take shade but this tends to hamper the setting of flower buds and, hence, blooming. Most like partial sun and partial shade. In general, the east facing exposure is ideal for more plants since the morning sun will remove the morning dew and help prevent disease. However, the west facing exposure is near ideal and most plants should be OK there.

The other consideration is winter hardiness. Winter sun and wind stress rhododendrons and azaleas. That is why you see some people put burlap around their plants (not over them). I personally don't like this except for new plants the first year or two. Small evergreen azalea plants especially need some protection the first two or three years. More tender plants will do better on the north side near the east or west side if you give them wind protection.

Ideally you will put in some trees on the south side to provide high shade. This means partial shade. I have had good luck with red oak and meta sequoia that I planted. They both grew rather quickly for me. Sweet gum and sour gum are said to be good also.

Also, ideally you will put in some wind breaks on the northwest side. At least, for me, that is the predominant direction the winter winds come from.

You don't say where in PA you live. In general, the best rhododendrons for the south facing side are the iron clads, very hardy varieties such as Nova Zembla, English Roseum, Roseum Elegans, Boule de Neige, Catawbiense Album, Mrs. Charles S. Sargent, Purpureum Elegans, and PJM. Evergreen azaleas aren't as hardy. The hardier ones are: Bixby, Helen Curtis, Hino-red, Hino-white, Karens, and Marie's Choice.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to grow rhododendrons and azaleas.
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So funny. I am heading up to Seattle later in the spring so I will look forward to seeing all those boring, common, beautiful, gorgeous azaleas and rhodies on every corner! :-) I hope you are able to talk a few clients into a couple on rare occasions. It seems so silly not to grow something that thrives in your area with little effort just because others have them! Especially when there are so many different types, so you really could be different by getting unique varieties. With the summer heat and sun here, I have mostly played it safe with the varieties in my own yard, but I do have some deciduous azaleas that seem unique around here. I will post photos of those in a few months. I have a large, very shaded area where they all seem to do well here. I’m sure they are not thriving and flowering as much as they would be in the northern PNW, but they’re a beautiful drought tolerant choice here for the shade... seem to need much less water than many other plants. Need such little care. Gorgeous in cut arrangements, so long lasting. Such an easy, easy, easy plant to care for. Hardly ever needs pruning, doesn’t really need fertilizer, hort oils, etc. So easy! Especially compared to my other love, roses. If I had all shade in my yard I would have all azaleas/rhodies and probably no roses!
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