A heat-tolerant Southern Indica Hybrid, this evergreen azalea bears spectacular clusters of immense rosy orange flowers from early to mid-spring. Red freckles dot the upper lobes of the broadly funnel-shaped single flowers. The upright rounded waist-high plants have handsome dark green leaves.
Selected in the Southeast United States for their tolerance of hot humid conditions, Southern Indica azaleas descend from the Belgian Indica Group. Their ancestry includes the East Asian species Rhododendron simsii, R. indicum, and R. murconatum.
Southern Indica azaleas are highly adaptable to all mild-winter climates, growing best in partial sun or in the bright shade of high-branched trees. Once established, they can handle full sun in areas with moderate summers. Give them an acidic soil with good drainage. Whether massed under tall live oaks or grown individually as a garden specimen, container plant, or espalier, they are equally lovely.