We all love flowering shrubs, and who doesn’t especially love azaleas, for their ruffled flowers, unique rich tones and profuse blooming. It used to be that we could only enjoy that beauty in spring, but those days are over. Now, with the Encore® Azaleas, what used to be a once-a-year treat is today a feature of our gardens in spring, summer and fall. These amazing bushes make it so much easier to have lots of color month after month, without the careful planning and planting that used to be needed. There are over 30 wonderful colors available, but for our money it’s very hard to beat the rich, glowing magenta flowers of the variety called Autumn Jewel®. These smother the bush in spring, and give an excellent repeat-blooming in fall, when flowers are normally a scarce garden feature. Combined with the bonus or leaves that turn a rich purple through the winter, and a compact form, the Autumn Jewel® Encore® Azalea will become the most precious piece in your garden tiara.

Growing the Autumn Jewel® Encore® Azalea

Size and Appearance

The Autumn Jewel® Encore® Azalea is a broad, rounded evergreen shrub that grows quickly into a dense bush up to 4 feet tall and wide. The leaves are simple ovals, about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide, with a slightly leathery texture, and a smooth surface covered in tiny hairs. The color is bright green on new leaves, darkening in summer, and then turning purple over the winter months.

The first blooms appear around the end of March, and that first blooming is profuse – so dense that the foliage is almost completely hidden. The flowers are carried in clusters of 4 to 6 at the end of each branch, and each one is a trumpet of petals, a full 2 inches across. The flowers open wide, showing off their brilliant deep pink coloring, with purplish overtones. The petals are decorated with a scattering of dots and streaks in dark red. Following a brief rest, while new shoots grow out, flowering resumes by late July, and increases in frequency to a peak in September or October.

Using the Autumn Jewel® Encore® Azalea in Your Garden

Wherever you need color and interest for month after month, that is where you can plant this great shrub. That’s everywhere, right? Use it around your home in front of larger evergreens. Plant it out in your shrub beds, or at the edge of woodlands areas. It looks great in formal gardens, and also in casual gardens, as well as in Asian-themed spaces. It is just as successful in pots and planters, which can be left outdoors all year round from zone 8. Otherwise keep them in a cool, bright porch for the coldest months.

Hardiness

The Autumn Jewel Encore Azalea is hardy from the cold end of zone 6 into the warm end of zone 10. In zone 6 it may lose a few leaves over winter, but it will remain substantially evergreen.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Most azaleas do best with some degree of shade. To get the best results with fall blooming, your Autumn Jewel Encore Azalea should have plenty of sun. It does also need consistent moisture, so try to combine both. Morning sun as a minimum is best, and especially in zones 6 and 7 afternoon sun as well is good, but not if the soil is dry. Use mulch and water regularly. Azaleas need acidic soil, with a pH value of 6.0 to 6.5, or less. They need rich, moist, but well-drained soil, and they aren’t drought resistant. If you don’t have the needed acid soil the best solution is to grow them in pots, where they will thrive for years. Make sure you have a drainage hole, plant in soil blended for acid-loving plants, and use fertilizer for acid-loving plants regularly.

Maintenance and Pruning

Like all azaleas this bush is largely free of pests or diseases, but they will be eaten by deer, if they can reach them. It is easy to grow once you have the soil right and a steady water supply. Trimming is not needed, but you can pinch off the spent flower heads, once the petals have dropped. Don’t trim the new stems for ‘neatness’, as this will reduce fall blooming. If you need to prune, do this right after the spring blooming, but generally it is best to allow this bush to grow naturally.

History and Origin of the Autumn Jewel® Encore® Azalea

The story of Encore Azaleas began back in 1968, when Dr. Hsu of Taiwan University sent some young seedlings of a native plant called Rhododendron oldhamii to the azalea enthusiast John Patrick, of Oakland, California. One of these seedlings was passed on to Dr. John T. Thornton of C&T Nursery in Franklinton, Louisiana, who noticed that it kept re-blooming in summer and fall, which was not normal. He named it ‘Fourth of July’. Robert E. Lee, known to everyone as ‘Buddy’, got some pieces of that plant, and it was by crossing these with many other azaleas that he created the Encore® Azaleas. One cross he made was with an older purple plant called ‘Karens’, and a seedling from that cross was called ‘Conlee’, or Autumn Amethyst™. In 2001 Tom Meadows, the manager of Flowerwood Nursery in Loxley, Alabama, noticed a branch with larger pink flowers growing on a plant of ‘Conlee’. He took the branch, grew it, and that plant became ‘Robleu’, which was patented in 2014. The nursery consortium Plant Development Services, Inc., who own the Encore® Azalea brand, added it to that great collection as Autumn Jewel®.

Buying the Autumn Jewel® Encore® Azalea at the Tree Center

We love all the Encore Azaleas, but we love Autumn Jewel for its unique and rich flower color. These azaleas ship out faster than we can ship them in, and this one is no exception. Order right away, while we still have plants available.