Rhododendron Haru-no-sono

The Japanese Azalea 'Haru No Sono' stands out for its original, ornamental flowering. This compact, slow-growing bush forms a clump that is wider than it is tall, almost a groundcover, with beautiful dark green foliage. The late flowers appear in May and June in the form of trumpets 6 to 7 cm in diameter. Their colour varies from white to pink in different shades, coexisting on the same plant, and contrasting pleasantly against the dark foliage. This bicolour symphony, enhanced with green, gives the plant a lively and novel appearance. This hardy Azalea can be planted in most regions, in acidic soil and under the light shade of taller plants. In areas with very cold winters or chalky soil, it will be possible to grow it in a pot, in a suitable substrate, to overwinter it under cover.

The term Azalea is a purely horticultural designation, as these plants are in fact all Rhododendrons, and belong to the Ericaceae family, which is rich in ornamental plants. This is the family of small shrubs, such as Gaultheria or Japanese Andromedas (Pieris), but also the Blueberry Bush. The Rhododendron genus is extremely diverse, including dwarf species, trees 15 m tall and even tropical species from the Vireya group, some of which are semi-epiphytic (capable of growing on other plants like many tropical orchids).
'Haru No Sono', which in Japanese means "the garden of spring", is an Azalea from the Satsuki group, which for the Japanese represents the archetype of the Japanese Azalea. Satsuki translates as "fifth month" because the varieties in this group indeed flower from May, which is relatively late compared to other Azaleas. Satsukis are spontaneous hybrids resulting from cross-breeding between Rhododendron indicum (the florist's Azalea, not hardy), which grows in humid mountainous areas of southern Japan, and Rhododendron tamurae (or R. eriocarpum), also confined to two small southern islands. It was in a small area on the island of Yaku (almost round and covering only 500 km²) that the two species crossed and fertilised. Breeders very early on took advantage of this happy and improbable chance of nature to produce thousands of Satsuki varieties. These Azaleas are the only ones to produce chimaeras, due to the mutation of genes responsible for flower colouration, which thus see several shades coexisting on the same plant, or even within the same flower.
In the Haru No Sono Azalea, one can see almost white flowers, others pale pink, some of a slightly deeper pink will be dotted with small spots of dark pink on part of the corolla, several will be of a more intense mauve pink while a few may display a mauve pink stripe on a light pink background, depending on the random expression of the plant's genes. This genetic cacophony, highly sought after by collectors, gives each plant a unique character and, above all, a remarkable ornamental interest. All these colour variations are enhanced by the dark green, slightly glossy foliage. The numerous small, rounded or obovate leaves, with a slightly pointed tip, measure only 2 or 3 cm long, and are evergreen. This slow-growing bush reaches about 60 cm in height and 80 cm in width in about ten years. In some specimens, it adopts a more spreading habit, almost groundcover, clearly wider than it is tall.

Japanese Azalea Haru No Sono will delight lovers of different-coloured flowers. If your soil is chalky, you can still enjoy it by planting it in a container filled with ericaceous compost. And in open ground, you can choose Hydrangea paniculata 'Vanille Fraise' instead, a Hydrangea tolerant of chalk, sun and a certain level of drought. It also produces a flowering in which white, pink and even red are mixed in imposing panicles that bloom all summer. In areas with naturally acidic soils, this Azalea will be perfectly at home in a bed of ericaceous plants. Its late flowering will take over from earlier species, such as the magnificent Star Magnolias or varieties like Japanese Azalea 'Kirin', which produces its small bright pink flowers as early as March.