Autumn Sweetheart Encore Azalea

• USDA Hardiness Zones 6-10
• Height 4 Feet Tall
• Spread 4 Feet Wide

This little sweetheart of a shrub deserves a space in any partly shady to full-sun garden as it offers so much no matter the time of year. In spring, it is smothered in 2.5-inch pale pink ruffled flowers whose petals are delicately sprinkled with slightly darker pink flecks. It flowers sporadically the rest of the season, then has another good flush of flowers to finish out the summer. The foliage remains on the plant throughout winter, providing a much-needed shot of green when the garden is most drab. You can site this plant on its own, surrounded by other shrubs and perennials, clustered along a foundation or massed as an evergreen border. Their 4x4 size means they won’t engulf your house or overwhelm other plants, making them useful in many garden situations.

Because Autumn Sweetheart’s blooms are so pale—almost white in fact—they show up well in part-shade. They are beautiful grouped under trees and larger shrubs, creating a naturalized effect. The color also works well with other pastel-colored woodland plants like hardy geraniums and false forget-me-not (Brunnera) or as a foil to more dramatic plants like Sun King Golden Japanese Aralia (named 2020 Perennial Plant of the Year). Don’t be afraid to site this shrub in sunnier garden areas though, it can take it!

Autumn Sweetheart Encore Azalea Care

Be sure to site the azalea where it can reach mature size so you do not have to fight to keep it in bounds. If you do so, pruning is only needed to remove the occasional dead branch. Azaleas bloom best where they receive some light—at least part shade, and they can take full sun too. Well- draining soil is key as they dislike being waterlogged. Aftercare is minimal—just water well after planting and during the first year to establish the plant. Then each spring, re-apply a light mulch around the plant and fertilize with a slow-release granular fertilizer.

Autumn Sweetheart Encore Azalea Spacing

For general garden areas where you are placing Autumn Sweetheart with other shrubs and perennials, give it two feet all around as it will eventually grow into a 4x4-foot rounded shrub. When placing it with others of its kind, you can space it a little closer, around 1.5 feet from the trunk of the adjacent shrub, so the eventual effect is of one continuous shrub.

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