Description
One of the most fragrant of all summer wildflowers, the fragrance of Western azalea can sometimes be smelled before you even see it. The extravagant flower clusters can vary widely in color, from white to pink or salmon, with yellow to orange blotch or stripes on the upper lobe. Western azalea is well loved both in the wild and in human landscapes because of its fragrance and beauty. It is native to Oregon and California.
A deciduous shrub, Western azalea can be found growing along rivers and streams, around ponds, lakes and wet meadows, on wooded slopes, serpentine ridges, and in bogs, thickets and fens. It definitely likes its feet wet or moist. In the fall Western azalea can put on another show, or second act, with fall colors that range from orange, yellow to red before the leaves drop as the weather changes. Western azalea prefers part shade and well-drained, acidic soils high in organic matter. In some locations that aren’t too hot and dry, it can grow in full sun as long as it has adequate moisture, but it will prefer part shade in inland valley bottom locations with high summer heat. The flowers of Western azalea are attrative to a wide range of pollinating insects, including bumble bees and butterflies.
Western azalea (Rhododendron occidentale) seed packets contain approximately 160 seeds per packet.
Seed Germination Requirements
No pretreatment required. Seeds need light to germinate, surface sow.
