Plant Library

Group/Class:  Girard Hybrids

Description:

A hardy, dwarf variety with deep pink colored blooms that cover a dense mounded shrub in mid spring; ideal for border fronts, as a foundation plant, or low garden accent; absolutely must have well-drained, highly acidic and organic soil

Ornamental Features

Girard's Border Gem Azalea is covered in stunning clusters of lightly-scented hot pink trumpet-shaped flowers with scarlet throats at the ends of the branches in mid spring before the leaves. It has green deciduous foliage which emerges light green in spring. The glossy narrow leaves turn an outstanding scarlet in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Girard's Border Gem Azalea is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Girard's Border Gem Azalea is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Girard's Border Gem Azalea will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. It has a low canopy. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth, but will die in standing water. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.