The Types of Encore Azaleas

Types

• Encore azaleas are marketed and most readily known by their trademark names, not their cultivar names. Each shrub variety's trademark name begins with the word "autumn," which quickly helps identify it as an Encore azalea. All Encore azaleas carry a U.S. patent number, which prohibits unauthorized plant propagation. Cultivar names of the azaleas are nonsensical, and most often start with the letters "Con" or "Rob." For example, the Autumn Carnation Encore azaleas's cultivar name is Roblec, while the Autumn Monarch cultivar name is Conleo.

Sizes

• Because each Encore azalea was first grown from seed after a hybridization, flower color and mature size vary. This provides additional selling points for gardeners looking for a reblooming azalea that best fits the scale and garden size limitations on a property. Small-sized shrubs in the Encore collection grow 2 to 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Medium-sized azaleas mature 3 to 4 1/2 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide, and large Encore azalea types reach 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide. The large azaleas are best choices for creating hedges.

Hardiness

• Encore azaleas are suitable for regions with relatively cool to mild winter climates. This correlates to U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7a through 9a, where winter low temperatures range from zero to 25 degrees Fahrenheit. However some cultivars demonstrate hardiness into USDA zone 6, where winters get down into the zero to minus-10 F range. As of March 2011, 10 Encore azaleas were recommended for the warmer winter areas of zone 6: Autumn Amethyst, Autumn Carnation, Autumn Cheer, Autumn Lilac, Autumn Royalty, Autumn Ruby, Autumn Sangria, Autumn Sundance, Autumn Sunset, and Autumn Twist.

Flowering Insight

• Encore azaleas provide a substantial flowering display in spring across its growing range in the United States. The spring blooming season ends by late spring. A hiatus occurs when new leaf and twig growth begins and flower buds mature in summer. Once the nighttime temperatures drop into the cooler 50 to 65 F range in late summer, flowering resumes, but it is not as profound when compared with the springtime display. In hot summer areas of the Deep South, the second blooming often is delayed into October. Sporadic flowers open in winter warm spells, too.