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Flower Index Index by Family Set 1 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Set 6

Rhododendron 'Rosebud' (Gable Hybrid) | Rosebud Azalea

First Bloom Dates:

2017 April 23

2019 May 5

2023 – no blooms; late frost

2024 April 18

Rhododendron 'Rosebud' (Gable Hybrid) | Rosebud Azalea

Ericaceae (Heather Family) Pronounced Eric-KAY-see-eye

My Azalea shrub has a height of 2 to 3 feet. It is slow growing which makes it easy maintenance

The silvery-pink flowers look just like small roses.

Although rarely needed, prune in Summer after flowering.

Rhododendron is a Greek for rose-tree in that “rhodos” means rose and “dendron” means tree.

‘Rosebud’ is a Gable hybrid of Rhododendron ‘Louise Gable’ and Rhododendron ‘Caroline Gable.’ It was developed by Azalea breeder Joseph Gable (1886-1972) in Stewartstown, Pennsylvania.

Azaleas like acidic soil at about 5.0 to 5.5 PH. To lower PH add sulfur or iron sulfate; to raise PH add limestone or lime.

Azaleas like filtered sunlight. It does not like hot afternoon sun. The roots are shallow so soil wetness consistency is important and Azaleas can benefit from mulch.

Azaleas bloom on old wood, thence, they the flower buds are on last year's growth.

Flowers look like little roses and can last up to 6 weeks. Flowers are funnel shaped. The flowers have 10 to 12 petals and look like one cup (corolla) is inside of another, which is called "hose-in-hose" flowers. This means the flower is a double flower.

Flower buds are susceptible to freezing or frost temperatures. The foliage is susceptible to Winter burn in which it turns brown and dies.

I have always thought azalea and rhododendrons were two totally different plants. They look totally different in the stores and I can tell them apart by sight, mostly by their leaves. To me, Azalea leaves are more flexible, soft, and rose-like and Rhodi leaves are more holly-textured being stiffer and breakable if you bend them. Azalea leaves are also more pointed than Rhodi leaves.

All azaleas are Rhododendrons but not all Rhododendrons are azaleas. That is the saying that goes. Another saying is that some Azaleas are evergreen, but most are deciduous, and all true Rhodis are evergreen. Azaleas tend to be smaller and more of a shrub shape and Rhodis tend to be very upright and tall.

Other differences are that azalea flowers have only 5 or 6 stamens, and Rhodis have 10 stamens, like I am going to take the time to count them. Azalea flowers are trumpet or tubular shaped and are singular instead of a cluster and Rhodis flowers are funnel or bell shaped and true ones are in round clusters of those funnel shapes.

2024

During the video recording above I wondered what was on my flower. I now realize it is just dirt! Ack! We have been doing a lot of revamping in the garden beds and putting in a drainage pipe, so all around the Azalea the soil has been disturbed. I think the rain caused the dirt to splatter on the flower.

All of the flowers are low on the plant because it blooms on old wood. It's not super pretty this year, but I am totally happy it is at least blooming since the cold frost got it last year for the first time. I covered it all Winter with leaves inside a chicken wire to protect it and then when I took that off, I covered it several times with cloth when the temperatures dropped. In 2023, I thought it was totally dead! Then after many weeks, it came back to life and I was happy, so the Azalea has come a long way in one year.

I took photos of this because I feel this is what Winter burn looks like when there is frost on the leaves and then the morning sun comes out, it actually burns the plant. I am glad only a few leaves look like this and that there are plenty of healthy looking leaves this year.

2021

I had the lime bush and the Spiderwort and Azalea all three together really complimented each other, but in 2024 we took out the bush because we were tired of trimming it back mulitple times a year and it would poke our skin and hurt it. It was not easy to bag up after trimming it.

2020