Cheerful Giant Azalea
Azalea x 'Cheerful Giant' (Exbury hybrid)
Hardy selection which provides a massive display of golden yellow double blooms with an orange blotch. Mounding form is excellent for massing in shrub borders. Deciduous.
| Botanical Pronunciation: | az-ZAY-lee-uh |
| Key feature: | Spring Flowering |
| Plant types: | Shrub, Rhododendron |
| Deciduous/evergreen: | Deciduous |
| Cold hardiness zones: | 5 - 9 |
| Light needs: | Partial to full sun |
| Water Needs: | Needs regular watering - weekly, or more often in extreme heat. |
| Average landscape size: | Moderate growing to 6 ft. tall, 4 ft. wide. |
| Growth rate: | Moderate |
| Growth habit: | Round |
| Flower attribute: | Showy Flowers |
| Landscape uses: | Border, Woodland Garden |
| Flower color: | Yellow |
| Blooms: | Late spring |
| Foliage color: | Green |
| Item no.: | 0717 |
| Retailers for this plant: |
Care Information
Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Provide well drained soil, rich in organic matter. Feed with an acid fertilizer after bloom. Keep roots cool with a thick layer of mulch. Pruning time: spring after flowering.
Design Ideas
Exceptional early spring color for beds, borders and foundation planting. Add to perimeter plantings. A natural large tree groves and the verges of wildlands or naturalistic landscapes. A traditional choice for Asian inspired gardens. Bold color for reflecting pools and water gardens.
Companion Plants
This azalea works nicely with other Asian garden plants such as Cheals Weeping Cherry, (Prunus serrulata 'Kiku-shidare-zakura'), Oshio Beni Japanese Maple, (Acer palmatum 'Oshio-Beni') and Silver Dragon Liriope, (Liriope spicata 'Silver Dragon'). It's exceptional along side Orangee Flame Oregon Grape Holly, (Mahonia aquifolium 'Orangee Flame') or Deer Fern, (Blechum spicant).
History
The breeding of these azaleas began early on in Japan, centuries before it was opened to western botanists. The Exbury Hybrids were developed by Baron von Rothschild at his Exbury, England estate. During the 1920s and 30s, he combined existing hybrids with those imported from North America, Japan and China to produce some truly astounding new plants. Exburys did not do well in the American South where so many other azaleas thrive due to a marked intolerance of extreme heat. However, Exburys have been used by southern breeders in the ancestry of modern hybrids due to the improvement in flower size and quantity.
Lore
Though they are known as azaleas, all azalea hybrids are technically members of the genus Rhododendron.
Hardy selection which provides a massive display of golden yellow double blooms with an orange blotch. Mounding form is excellent for massing in shrub borders. Deciduous.
Care Information
Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Provide well drained soil, rich in organic matter. Feed with an acid fertilizer after bloom. Keep roots cool with a thick layer of mulch. Pruning time: spring after flowering.
Design Ideas
Exceptional early spring color for beds, borders and foundation planting. Add to perimeter plantings. A natural large tree groves and the verges of wildlands or naturalistic landscapes. A traditional choice for Asian inspired gardens. Bold color for reflecting pools and water gardens.
Companion Plants
This azalea works nicely with other Asian garden plants such as Cheals Weeping Cherry, (Prunus serrulata 'Kiku-shidare-zakura'), Oshio Beni Japanese Maple, (Acer palmatum 'Oshio-Beni') and Silver Dragon Liriope, (Liriope spicata 'Silver Dragon'). It's exceptional along side Orangee Flame Oregon Grape Holly, (Mahonia aquifolium 'Orangee Flame') or Deer Fern, (Blechum spicant).
History
The breeding of these azaleas began early on in Japan, centuries before it was opened to western botanists. The Exbury Hybrids were developed by Baron von Rothschild at his Exbury, England estate. During the 1920s and 30s, he combined existing hybrids with those imported from North America, Japan and China to produce some truly astounding new plants. Exburys did not do well in the American South where so many other azaleas thrive due to a marked intolerance of extreme heat. However, Exburys have been used by southern breeders in the ancestry of modern hybrids due to the improvement in flower size and quantity.
Lore
Though they are known as azaleas, all azalea hybrids are technically members of the genus Rhododendron.
| Botanical Pronunciation: | az-ZAY-lee-uh |
| Key feature: | Spring Flowering |
| Plant types: | Shrub, Rhododendron |
| Deciduous/evergreen: | Deciduous |
| Cold hardiness zones: | 5 - 9 |
| Light needs: | Partial to full sun |
| Water Needs: | Needs regular watering - weekly, or more often in extreme heat. |
| Average landscape size: | Moderate growing to 6 ft. tall, 4 ft. wide. |
| Growth rate: | Moderate |
| Growth habit: | Round |
| Flower attribute: | Showy Flowers |
| Landscape uses: | Border, Woodland Garden |
| Flower color: | Yellow |
| Blooms: | Late spring |
| Foliage color: | Green |
| Item no.: | 0717 |
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Monrovia soil products
The best fertilizer to use with this plant is Azalea & Camellia Food.view soil products