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Azalea & Rhododendron

Did I get the wrong Encore azalea?

biondanonima (Zone 7a Hudson Valley)

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

I ordered three Autumn Embers Encore Azaleas recently, which arrived in great shape with a few buds burgeoning. They have started blooming and look quite lovely, which is great! However, the flower color is not at all what I was expecting, to the point that I'm suspicious they aren't Autumn Embers. Mine are hot pink, not really orangey at all.

Here's a stock photo of Autumn Embers from the Encore website:

And here's are close ups of one of mine (imo my camera renders the color pretty accurately):

What do you experts think? They look closer to the color of Autumn Rouge to my eye. I like the color so its it's not a huge deal, but I chose Autumn Embers for its size as well, and if these are another variety I may have to rethink their placement. Thanks!

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Comments (5)

NHBabs z4b-5a NH
5 years ago
Contact the vendor?
biondanonima (Zone 7a Hudson Valley)
Original Author
5 years ago
I ordered them from Home Depot, so I'm not sure they'll be much help. I'll give it a try, though. I was also thinking of emailing Encore directly.
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biondanonima (Zone 7a Hudson Valley)
Original Author
5 years ago
Update: I contacted Encore and they identified my plants as Autumn Rouge from the photos I sent. Home Depot offered me a 50% refund if I wanted to keep them, so I accepted. While I was at HD today, I noticed they had Autumn Sunsets (with blooms so I knew I was getting the right plant) for half off, so I snapped up three 3 gals for $40 total! Autumn Sunset is quite similar to Autumn Embers from what I can tell so I'm a happy camper.
luis_pr
5 years ago
There is certainly an advantage to the suggestion of buying plants only when they are blooming. I am glad that HD made you an acceptable offer and am glad that the plant is a rebloomer. I once bought a rose that blooms only once a year (so it is not a rebloomer) and I purchased it while it was not blooming. Weeeell, I had the same issue as you did but the nursery did nothing because I did not contact them "early enough" (I had to wait until Spring of the next year to see that the blooms were the wrong color). Not even a discount on future purchases. Oh well. Live and learn... I learned to be more cautious with shrubs that bloom only once a year or that are not blooming until after the plant nursery's warranty expires.

Enjoy your Rouges and Sunsets. I have an Autumn Royalty. I considered some of the orange-y ones but had a hard time finding a good spot for the orange blooms, which is how I ended with AR instead.
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Some of Home Depot's plant providers are notorious for labeling plants incorrectly. At least in my region.

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