Encore Azalea’ Autumn Embers
“Encore Azalea? Autumn Embers? PP#10,581″
Plant Patent #10,581. Cultivar: ‘Conleb’If I had to pick one favorite from the reblooming Azaleas Encore? series, it would have to be Autumn Embers?, with its neat, spreading habit (just right for containers as well as the garden!), its semi-double blooms, and its unusual persimmon-red flower color! Just as vigorous and bloom-happy as its larger cousins, this compact little shrub is a joy in any setting from the front of the foundation to the edge of the driveway!Do you know about the Encore Azaleas?? I call them a gardener’s dream come true, and they really are! Not only do you get TWO full seasons of bloom every year (spring and fall), but you get scattered blossoms all summer long. AND they’re compact enough to grow in containers (especially Autumn Embers?!), so no matter where you live, you can enjoy them indoors year-round! They bloom even more freely as houseplants, sending up flowers 11 months out of every 12 in ideal conditions! Wow!Now, Autumn Embers? is particularly glorious because it’s the only Encore Azalea? with semi-double blooms. Each flower has extra petals, adding to the showiness of the display. And considering the size of the shrub, these blossoms are big — 2? to 3 inches across! They arise very abundantly in both spring and fall, just covering the 2?-foot-tall, 3-foot-wide shrub in bright orangey-red color!Autumn Embers? is just as easy to grow as any other Azalea, happiest in full sun to light shade (afternoon is best, but don’t worry about it) and slightly acidic soil. Most of us in the zone 7-9 hardiness range already have this type of soil, and if you’re growing this shrub in a container with a soilless potting mix, a bit of peat moss every so often will do the trick nicely. This shrub needs no pruning or shaping to look its best, and the evergreen foliage keeps it attractive year-round!In the garden, put Autumn Embers? among summer-blooming perennials like Platycodon. It also makes a big splash with spreading Petunias and other long-bloom
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