Azalea japonica ENCORE Ivory Roblev

The Encore Ivory Hybrid Azalea illuminates the garden for months with its flowers that change from pale pink to pure white. This lovely variety is part of the Encore series, which has made the Japanese Azalea, now with successive and spectacular flowerings, a plant almost as decorative as the rose. This compact and bushy shrub, adorned with small evergreen leaves, blooms two to three times a year, depending on the climate: first, abundantly in late winter or early spring, then during the summer before a beautiful resurgence in late summer or early autumn. Comfortable in full sun or partial shade and relatively hardy, the Encore series hybrid Azaleas are very versatile and there are varieties to suit all tastes, with single or double flowers, more or less compact, in a range of varied colours including white, shades of pink, salmon, and orange vermillion. Mix them together to create rustic beds or more sophisticated displays according to your desires. Like all azaleas, 'Ivory'  prefers non-calcareous soils, moist but well-drained, and fertile enough to sustain its successive flowerings. 

From a botanical point of view, Azaleas are actually Rhododendrons, plants from the large Ericaceae family. The hybrids from the Encore series, distributed by Globe Planter, were created thanks to Buddy Lee, a talented American nurseryman specializing in these plants. These quite fantastic Azaleas are the result of a long process of hybridisation and selection, with the aim of obtaining varieties capable of flowering several times a year, as well as withstanding the sun.

'Ivory' is a modest-sized variety, with a dense, rather upright bushy habit. The shrub reaches about 90 cm (35.4 in) in height and 80 cm (31.5 in) in spread by the age of 10, growing rather slowly. Its first, particularly abundant, flowering starts in March-April in the form of single flowers that open in pale mauve before turning a pure white. They measure about 5 cm (2 in) in diameter, are funnel-shape, and gathered in terminal clusters. A second wave of flowers begins to appear from the end of May, when new shoots appear, already bearing new flower buds that will open in summer. A final flowering takes place in early autumn, usually in October. The foliage of the Japanese Azalea, more or less evergreen depending on the severity of the winter, consists of small, simple, glossy, elliptical leaves with smooth edges, arranged alternately on the branches. They are rather light green in spring, darkening in summer. This variety is hardy down to -12/-15°C. Azaleas and Rhododendrons have a shallow root system that always needs to be kept moist, but they also dislike waterlogged soil which would suffocate them.

Japanese Azaleas thrive in cool climates with distinct winters, planted in humus-rich, acidic soil, such as ericaceous soil. In these conditions, they are very beautiful evergreen shrubs for beds or flowering pots, attractive all year round. They harmonise perfectly with heathers, Japanese maples, or their relatives, Chinese Azaleas, which change their colours with the seasons. Combine them with flowering cherry trees, Japanese camellias, and their graceful, often fragrant, autumn-flowering cousins, Camellia sasanqua hybrids. This 'Ivory' variety will look wonderful in a large, cool rockery or at the front of beds in a small Japanese or romantic-style garden, and also on a terrace or balcony, in a large carefully chosen pot, planted in suitable soil and watered with lime-free water.