Rare Azalea Seeds

Where to Get Seed

• The best place to start looking for rare azalea seeds is in nursery catalogs. However, sometimes people will share seeds from their yards or properties. Others harvest seeds from the wild where that’s allowed. Azalea or rhododendron societies often exchange seed. Sometimes public gardens will make seeds available for purchase. Often they will simply be listed by name of the seed parent, but some will also include the name of the pollen parent as well. Some will list the seeds by the botanical name, rhododendron.

Rare Red to Orange Azaleas

• These flowers may come in red, orange, rust, peach, coral and a variety of other colors. Azalea austrinum has glowing orange-juice colored flowers with pink and yellow accents. Azalea calendulaceum is a little more on the coral side but sometimes can appear bright orange. Azalea cumberlandense is reddish-orange, and Azalea flammeum is a deep rusty red that ages to orange. Azalea prunifolium’s flowers can range from red to peachy orange. These azaleas are all deciduous and the colors are vibrant.

Rare Blue to Purple Azaleas

• Azalea in this color range can be lilac, purple and orchid and can vary in color intensity.
  No azaleas are true blue; all have a tinge of purple to them. The Azalea kiyosumense is native to Japan and has a bright orchid flower, and Azalea “Easley Sky Blue,” a selection of Korean azalea, has a rare light purplish-blue color. Azalea periclymenoides has orchid-colored open flowers with petals that twist.

Rare Pink Azaleas

• Many of the pink Azalea species may appear almost white at times, due to the normal variations of seed-grown plants. Pink is a fairly common azalea color, even among the more rare varieties. No one even knew about the Azalea colemanii until 2008, with its pale to deep pink flowers. The Azalea prinophyllum has light pink flowers with thinner petals than most azaleas. The Azalea canescens has small pink flowers in loose trusses (flowerheads).