We all love to see red in our gardens – red foliage is definitely the most popular of all the foliage colors available, and nothing beats the classic red rose. How about an evergreen bush covered in big red blooms for 5 months of the year? Sounds good? Then you need to grow the Red Bloom-A-Thon® Azalea, a wonderful reblooming azalea that follows a big spring show in April with blooms that start again in July and keep going, increasing in quantity, right until the first hard frost. You can brighten every part of your garden, in beds, under trees, or in planters on your terrace. Azaleas are not hard to grow if their basic needs are met, and this bush is exceptionally tough and vigorous, as well as being hardy even in zone 6 – what a thrill to have week after week of brilliant color, all from a single bush.

Growing the Red Bloom-A-Thon® Azalea

Size and Appearance

The Red Bloom-A-Thon Azalea is a dense, mounding, evergreen shrub growing 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. It has a naturally bushy habit, and never looks untidy or leggy. It is covered right to the ground in small oval leaves that are 1 to 2 inches long. They are rich dark green and covered in fine hairs that give them a velvety feel. This plant has good retention of the foliage through winter, and even in zone 6 leaves are retained at the ends of the branches, with some dropping of internal foliage.

The flowers on this gorgeous azalea are rich, dark red with purplish overtones – a superb color with great depth. The flowers are carried in clusters at the ends of every branch, and some clusters can produce over 30 blooms, each one lasting up to 10 days. They are usually single blooms, with a wide trumpet shape and 5 wavy-edged petals flaring outwards. The throat of the blooms is marked with very dark-red spots and streaks, deepening the effect even more. Some flowers produce additional petals, with up to 5 additional petals inside the trumpet making a semi-double bloom – all in all a wonderful show. Flowering begins in April and continues through May for a month or more, and then stops briefly while new shoots are produced. These begin to bloom again as early as July, continuing with more and more blooms opening all through fall, often only stopping with the arrival of the first hard frost.

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

The rich red of this azalea looks wonderful against all dark foliage, and also with purples and pinks – such as the Hot Pink or Pink Double Bloom-A-Thon azaleas. Make an all-season show by mixing varieties together. You can grow this shrub in any garden bed, or as a border along a path or driveway. Grow it around mature deciduous trees, or in more natural open wooded areas. It is also wonderful in pots around your terrace or patio.

Hardiness

All the Bloom-A-Thon azaleas have been selected for cold resistance, so the Red Azalea grows well even in sheltered spots in zone 6. It thrives in all warmer zones too, coping well with hot summer weather.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Grow the Red Azalea in partial shade or light full shade. It blooms much more in shady places than other reblooming azaleas like the Encore azalea bushes. Morning sun and afternoon shade is ideal in all zones, with more sun in cooler areas. The soil should be moist, well-drained and rich in organic material – good bed preparation pays big dividends in growth and blooming. The soil also should be acidic, with a pH value of 5.5 or less. If you don’t have suitable soil, azaleas grow well for many years in pots or planters, using soil for acid-loving plants.

Maintenance and Pruning

A spring mulch over the rootzone (keep clear of stems and leaves) and some azalea fertilizer will make a big difference to your success – and it only takes a moment or two. Plants in pots should be fed regularly with a liquid azalea food. Pruning isn’t needed, but we do recommend a light trim when the spring blooming is over. It takes away the seed heads that draw energy away from the next flower crop, and also stimulates more new shoots that equal more flowers. Pests and diseases won’t usually be an issue, but watering regularly is good, because the fine roots dry out easily.

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

Robert Head has become the driving force behind reblooming azaleas, thanks to his dedication and hard work. It takes years to create new plants, and Robert has been at this for years, so he knows what he is doing. Besides bringing us the ReBLOOM™ azaleas, he created the exclusive Bloom-A-Thon® collection for Proven Winners®. This brand is an exclusive and exciting collection for Spring Meadow Nurseries and the consortium of wholesale growers who own it. With just 5 varieties in it, every Bloom-A-Thon® plant is special, with clear, strong colors, good winter hardiness and foliage retention, and reliable reblooming. To create the Red Bloom-A-Thon® Azalea he started with as many varieties as he could find that have some tendency to produce a few flowers late in the summer. He crossed and re-crossed them at his Long Creek, South Carolina breeding farm. In 1996 he took one of his own plants, code named RLH-1900-RP, and pollinated it with pollen from an older colorful variety called ‘September Song’. He grew a batch of seedlings, and among them was one with red blooms that just wouldn’t stop sending out new flowers – exactly what he had been hoping for. This new variety was officially named ‘RLH1-1P2’, and granted a patent in 2010, after extensive trials.

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

A garden without red flowers is like French fries without salt, so make a space for the Red Bloom-A-Thon® Azalea in yours. You will get months of bloom on this spectacular bush, but put your order in right away, because everyone wants to get hold of this bush, and our supplies are limited.