10 Japanese azaleas with red flowers

Japanese Azalea 'Johanna'

Let’s start with a variety that lives up to the promises of a red Japanese Azalea: the cultivar ‘Johanna’ bears medium to large, carmine-red flowers, on initially light green foliage at bud burst, which then turns dark green and glossy. It takes on purplish hues in autumn. With an upright and compact habit, reaching 60 cm in height and 50 cm in spread at ripeness, this Azalea blooms in April and May. It is classified in USDA zone 7a, hardy down to -17° C.

Plant it on a slope in partial shade with other vibrant colours: Pieris, Heathers, Chinese Azaleas, and Japanese Maple.

Azalea ‘Johanna’

Japanese Azalea 'Girard's Scarlet'

Let’s explore red with the Japanese Azalea ‘Girard’s Scarlet’, which features satin-like flowers in a glossy red with orange highlights, enhanced by a brown throat. The red is not tinged with pink; the flowers are large, measuring 6 cm, and bloom in May on dark green foliage, lasting for 3 weeks. This Azalea has a rounded habit and reaches 60 cm in all directions at maturity. Particularly cold-resistant, it is known to withstand frosts down to -26° C, classifying it in USDA zone 6a, meaning it should thrive throughout France.

Plant it alongside Japanese Camellias and Camellia sasanqua in a shaded border.

Azalea ‘Girard’s Scarlet’

Encore® Hybrid Azalea 'Bonfire'

An ENCORE Azalea: ‘Bonfire’ blooms twice, even three times a year and can be grown in full sun. These are the characteristics of this exceptional series. More specifically, the red Azalea ‘Bonfire’ features bright rose-red flowers, close to magenta, intense and resistant to fading. Approximately 5 cm in size, the flowers are semi-double and single. In fertile soil and good conditions, it blooms three times a year: first in March-April, followed by a second wave of flowers in summer, and then again in October. The leaves of ‘Bonfire’, light green in spring and darkening in summer, have a velvety appearance and take on purple hues in cold weather. The plant, with a rounded habit, reaches 80 cm in all directions at maturity. It is classified in USDA zone 7b, tolerating frosts of around -12 to -15° C.

Plant it in full sun or partial shade alongside a Japanese Cherry and some Heathers.

ENCORE® Azalea ‘Bonfire’

Japanese Azalea 'Vuyk's Scarlet'

The Azalea ‘Vuyk’s Scarlet’ is an old variety with a compact and slightly spreading habit, producing large, lush flowers in bright crimson during May. Renowned for its cold resistance, reliability, and ornamental qualities, it has been awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society in England. It reaches 80 cm in height and 1.20 m in spread at maturity. Its crinkled and undulating flowers have intense pink highlights. The foliage turns shades of bronze, copper, and purple in winter. It is hardy down to -20°C, classified in USDA zone 6b.

Plant it alongside other evergreen Azaleas of different habits and colours, as well as Chinese Azaleas, which are deciduous and variable.

Azalea ‘Vuyk’s Scarlet’

Azalea japonica 'Hino Crimson'

The Japanese Azalea ‘Hino Crimson’ is well known for how its flowering “devours” the entire plant in early spring. Indeed, its flowers are particularly small, measuring 1 to 3 cm, but more often just 1 cm! They are so numerous at flowering that they almost completely cover the plant. ‘Hino Crimson’ is therefore a cultivar with exceptional floribundity and is quite early: it blooms from March to April in clusters of small, fluffy, bright red trumpet-shaped flowers. A small variety, this azalea has a rounded and compact habit, reaching 60 cm in height and 80 cm in width at maturity. Its dark green foliage turns bronze and red if the winter is cold. It is classified in USDA zone 7a, making it hardy down to -15 to -18° C.

Azalea ‘Hino Crimson’

Japanese Azalea 'Ben Morrisson'

Here is a variety that is not quite red, but rather a blend of pink-orange, red, and white. The Japanese Azalea ‘Ben Morrisson’ features an unusual bicoloured flowering: very large 7 cm flowers, undulated, edged in white, washed with pink-orange, and maculate with red. It blooms for 3 weeks in May on a dense, spreading bush, measuring 70 cm in all directions at the age of 10 years, with classic dark green foliage. It is said to withstand frosts down to -18° C, classified in USDA zone 7a.

Plant it alongside blooms that reflect the diversity of its colours: white, red, orange, and pink in a heather soil bed.

Azalea ‘Ben Morrisson’

Japanese Azalea 'Tamanini'

With foliage displaying bronze hues all year round, the Azalea ‘Tamanini’ boasts small brick-red flowers with a hint of pink against these lovely reflections. Flowering rather late, it blooms at the end of April or in May. It reaches 1 m in all directions at ripeness with a rounded habit. Its flowers are satin-like and slightly maculate with red. The result is warm and vibrant. It is classified in USDA zone 7a, even 6b, and can withstand frosts of at least -15° C.

Plant it on the terrace or balcony in a lovely pot in partial shade, using slightly acidic substrate.

Azalea ‘Tamanini’

Japanese Azalea 'Ruby'

Another Azalea from the ENCORE series, ‘Ruby’ offers the same characteristics: the ability to be grown in full sun and endless flowering, 2 to 3 times from spring to autumn. Also red, it displays a reddish-orange rather than a pink-red like ‘Bonfire’. Its flowers are simple in shape with slightly frilled edges and an incandescent colour. Its habit is dense and rather upright, reaching 1.20 m in height and 1 m in width at maturity, with a slightly faster growth rate than other Japanese Azaleas. It begins in March-April with a very abundant flowering of flowers 4 to 5 cm in diameter and prepares a second wave of flowers for summer by the end of May. A final wave arrives in October. It is classified in USDA zone 8a but can withstand frosts down to -12 to -15° C.

This Azalea will find its place in a Japanese-style garden, for example, with cloud-pruned conifers, Japanese Maples, ferns, bamboos…

Azalea ENCORE ‘Ruby’

Japanese Azalea 'Stewartstonian'

The Japanese Azalea ‘Stewartstonian’ is a beautiful variety with large brick-red flowers. It features classic glossy dark green foliage, which takes on lovely autumnal and even winter hues of bronze and purple. This is a compact variety, reaching 80 cm in height and 1 m in spread at maturity, with an upright or irregular bushy habit, tending to spread with age. Its abundant and dazzling flowering occurs from April to May for several weeks. The large 6 cm flowers have undulating edges and a bright orange-red to brick-red colour. The plant is classified in USDA zone 7a, making it hardy down to -17 to -18° C.

Plant it in a cool rockery alongside paniculate Hydrangeas and blue hardy geraniums.

Azalea ‘Stewartstonian’

Japanese Azalea 'Hot Shot'

The special appeal of the variety ‘Hot Shot’ is its white-marginate foliage. As Azaleas thrive in partial shade, such foliage enhanced by bright orange-red flowering brings light and vibrancy. Moreover, this foliage turns purple in winter. Like the red of geraniums, its 6 cm flowers have undulating edges and a bright red devoid of pink. The foliage is dark green, irregularly bordered with cream white. In cold weather, it becomes purple and the border turns pink. At maturity, this variety reaches a height of 60 to 70 cm and a width of 90 cm. It blooms in April and withstands winter frosts of around -20° C, in USDA zone 6b.

Plant it alongside silver, marginate foliage, and white, orange, and red flowers.

Azalea ‘Hot Shot’