Spring into the Azalea Garden

Posted in Gardening Tips on April 17 2013, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Last week I announced that spring is here and the weather promptly rose into the 70s for three days. I watched everything unfurl, some early bloomers senesced, and then we had a welcome day of rain which supplied good moisture to get even more things jumping.

We are heading into the season where the Garden changes dramatically every week. This morning I walked out to the Azalea Garden and admired the early season blooms in their full glory. The Korean rhododendron Rhododendron mucronulatum, ‘Cornell Pink’ is smothered with flowers. You can find it planted in a pleasant band that runs through the Azalea Garden and lights the hillside up with girly pink flowers.

The Korean rhododendron is interchangeably called the Korean azalea. It is a deciduous rhododendron that blooms early in the season–it is generally one of the first to open–flowering typically at the end of March into early April. R. mucronulatum ‘Pink Peignoir’ is more upright. It is a daintier incarnation of the Korean rhododendron and an equally garde-worthy specimen. This year, with the seasonal delay both cultivars are flowering about one to two weeks later than usual.

For those of you who prefer evergreen rhododendrons in your garden, just around the corner from ‘Cornell Pink’, Rhododendron ‘P.J.M.’ is in flower. This small-leaved evergreen rhododendron has an attractive mounding form. Our specimens are around six to seven feet tall. The flowers are traditional lavender-pink.

This rhododendron is a Weston hybrid. It is a cross between Rhododendron carolinianum and Rhododendron dauricum var. sempervirens. ‘P.J.M.’ stands for Peter J. Mezitt, the founder of Weston’s Nursery in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. The Mezitts have hybridized a number of high quality rhododendrons and azaleas that are now have on display in the Azalea Garden. ‘P.J.M.’ is one of their earliest introductions.

What I like so much about this rhododendron is that between its small, substantial foliage; 6-8 foot size; and open mounding form it can inhabit a space in your garden without overwhelming its neighbors. It plays nicely with the trendy new varieties of azaleas and rhododendrons on the market and makes woodland perennials look their best.

Over the next few weeks the plants in the Azalea Garden will be flower in gorgeous succession. The Azalea Garden is worth visiting several times over the course of the spring and offers a good understanding of how flowering sequence can be used in your own garden. But, if you can only visit once, one of the weekends also featuring the grand re-opening of the nearby Native Plant Garden would be ideal! I guarantee you will walk away with so much inspiration for your own garden that you’ll want to get started the minute you get home.