Gumpo White Azalea

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.

Perfect for small or urban garden settings. Plant in the foreground of a woodland setting or prune into a bonsai form. Works well in containers under a filtered sun patio cover.

Include with a mixed color palette of Azaleas, Camellias, Hydrangeas, Japanese Maples, Painted Fern and Flowering Cherries in an Asian inspired design. Combine in a border or woodland area with summer and fall blooming perennials for color all growing season long.

The Satsuki azaleas are perhaps the most highly regarded of all in Japan. Breeding has resulted there the widest range of flower color, but there is equal emphasis on growth characteristics. They are derived from crosses between R. indicum and R. eriocarpum. Satsukis were introduced to the west around 1900, but breeding didn't really take off here until the 1930s.The name "Satsuk" in Japanese comes from reference to their blooming period which is the fifth month of the Asian lunar calendar. A traditional beverage made from azalea blossoms, called 'Tugyonju', which literally means azalea wine, is produced in Korea.

Azaleas are among the few blooming plants found in the traditional Japanese tea garden, and the earliest known hybrids originated in Japan. All azaleas are actually classified under genus Rhododendron, but share their own distinct taxonomical grouping.