Azaleas are among the most beautiful of garden shrubs in warmer zones, and their rich colors make a spectacular display in the spring garden. Waiting a whole year for a couple of weeks of bloom is not so great, which is why so many gardeners are switching to re-blooming varieties that deliver up to 20 weeks of bloom in a year. Some of them do best only in the warmest zones, and even there they need plenty of sun, and that might not sound like your garden. That’s why we recommend the Bloom-A-Thon® azaleas for shady gardens, and for zones 6 and 7, and they grow well in warmer zones too. They have been bred for cold winters, yet their blooms are so large and their colors so clear they are almost tropical in their beauty. This select group includes just five varieties, each one distinctive and beautiful, with clean, bright colors. For a classic and classy look, we love the Lavender Bloom-A-Thon® Azalea. It’s warm coloring brightens any bed, and you can look forward to rapid growth on a sturdy, evergreen shrub. Very soon you will have a substantial 3-foot shrub that greets you from spring to the last frost with color and beauty – why settle for less?

Growing the Lavender Bloom-A-Thon® Azalea

Size and Appearance

The Lavender Bloom-A-Thon Azalea is a bushy, upright shrub that grows vigorously to be over 4 feet tall and almost as wide. It is naturally rounded and needs no trimming to stay neat and attractive. Its many branches mean foliage to the ground, and it is cold resistant, staying semi-evergreen all winter long. The small leaves are oval, with a soft, slightly furry feel because of the short hairs that cover their surface. Those leaves are dark green, hold their color well, and they are no more than 2 inches long, adding to the neat look that makes this an attractive plant even when it has no blooms.

The flowers first appear in April, in a big spring display. Then your bush takes a short break, sending out lots of new shoots, and by July you will start to see blooms again. These continue, becoming more prolific, right through October, often ending only with the first hard frost. Every stem carries a cluster of up to 6 blossoms at its end, and as cooler weather comes the buds become dormant, protecting the flowers for the following spring. The flowers are open and star-shaped, a full 3 inches across, and often you can hardly see the leaves for the profusion of blooms. Each blossom lasts up to 10 days, before dropping neatly – tedious dead-heading is not required. The coloring is delicious – a warm, rich, pinky purple, enhanced by bold dark-red spots and streaks in the throat of each bloom – and of course you will be seeing lots of it, with this bush blooming for more than 20 weeks of the year.

Using the Lavender Bloom-A-Thon® Azalea in Your Garden

The bright coloring of the Lavender Azalea fits in with most other shrub colors, so use this bush in your garden beds to keep them always bright and interesting. Grow it at the back of small beds, or in the middle of larger ones, and plant it around the edges of your larger evergreens. Grow it along a driveway or path or plant a pair on either side of a gate. Hide a boring fence with a row of beauty or grow it in planters on your terrace or patio, or inside your lanai.

Hardiness

Zones 7 to 9 are all ideal for growing the Lavender Azalea perfectly. It even grows well in sheltered parts of zone 6. It may drop a few leaves during the coldest months, but it will remain semi-evergreen, and bounce back as soon as warmer weather returns.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

The Lavender Azalea enjoys a wide range of light levels, and it is especially suitable for light full shade, where it will still bloom well, unlike other reblooming azaleas, which need plenty of sunshine. It really enjoys morning sun and afternoon shade. The soil should be moist but well-drained, and rich in organic material. Add plenty when preparing the planting spot, and as a mulch each spring. The soil should be acidic, with a pH of 5.5 or less. If you don’t have suitable soil, don’t worry, because like all azaleas it grows well in planters for years, using potting soil for acid-loving plants.

Maintenance and Pruning

Mulch in spring, and some azalea fertilizer, will make the Lavender Azalea really happy. Keep mulch off the stems and leaves, covering the whole root zone. Plants in containers should be fed regularly with liquid azalea food. Trim lightly after that first spring display, to encourage a flush of new stems – these will carry the later blooms and remove seed heads. Pests or diseases are rare, and this robust shrub is easy to grow. Water regularly during dry periods, as azaleas are not drought resistant.

History and Origin of the Lavender Bloom-A-Thon® Azalea

The North Carolina breeder Robert Head is an expert in reblooming azaleas, and he developed both the Bloom-A-Thon® Azaleas and the ReBLOOM™ varieties. To develop the beautiful Lavender azalea, he began 15 years earlier with older varieties that sometimes send out a few stray blooms over the summer. He kept crossing and selecting until he had many promising plants to work with. In 1996 he crossed two of his seedlings (code names RLH-1900-RP and RLH-19-PAF) and among the batch of plants he raised was one that looked gorgeous and just wouldn’t stop blooming. He named it ‘RLH1-4P19’ and patented it in 2010, after extensive testing. It has been released as the Lavender Bloom-A-Thon® Azalea. This range of five varieties, selected for hardiness, large blossoms and clear, bright colors, was created for Proven Winners®, a group of several major plant growers.

Buying the Lavender Bloom-A-Thon® Azalea at The Tree Center

All the Bloom-A-Thon® Azaleas have been selected to blend with each other, so the Lavender Azalea looks great with any of the other varieties. Why not build a collection and have months of great color in your garden? But act fast, because these popular plants always sell out as soon as they arrive.