Thanks for the info, Dieter2NC. That confirms my suspicion that many factors influence reblooming, like the zone one lives in, etc. I too have had mixed results from the Encores. Their spring bloom is the heaviest but does not seem to be as good of once bloomers or other rebloomers like Red Ruffles. I am going to see how the re-bloom of those two compare during the summer and fall seasons. Luis

Yes, I did. In fact, that's how I found out about that lavender flower azalea. There's a very long list of retails selling Encore azaleas but I'm not sure if most of them will have that lavender color ones because it's the newest one. There's a couple dozen different encore azalea and I don't recall any stores having that many varieties thus the reason for this thread. I just wondered if there's any nurseries getting the latest varieties or selling wide varieties of encore. I don't think Home depot sells more than a few varieties if memory serves me.

up here in MI .. this winter was as bad as last ... and i am wondering if my couple As are even going to come back ... if your winter was the same.. the double insult might be at work .. they are incredibly stressed.. they are not hungry .... i wouldnt go very far with any fert ... may just some low value hollytone by iponema ... did you have soil test done.. and do you know if pH is correct???? ken

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.