Azalea, Electric Lights Red Rhododendron 'UMNAZ 502' Height: 5 feet Spread: 4 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 4a Group/Class: Electric Lights™ Series Brand: First Editions Description: Stunning, fire engine red blooms smother the plant in mid-spring, creating an impressive border or low screen; absolutely must have well-drained, highly acidic and organic soil; flower buds are exceptionally hardy Ornamental Features Azalea, Electric Lights Red is smothered in stunning clusters of fragrant red trumpet-shaped flowers at the ends of the branches from mid to late spring before the leaves. It has forest green deciduous foliage which emerges light green in spring. The glossy oval leaves do not develop any appreciable fall color. Landscape Attributes Azalea, Electric Lights Red is an open multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage. This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics. Azalea, Electric Lights Red is recommended for the following landscape applications; Planting & Growing Azalea, Electric Lights Red will grow to be about 5 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more. This shrub does best in partial shade to shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. This plant should be periodically fertilized throughout the active growing season with a specially-formulated acidic fertilizer. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.
