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Encore® Autumn Twist® Azalea Rhododendron 'Conlep' Height: 4 feet Spread: 4 feet
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Hardiness Zone: 6 Brand: Encore Azalea Description: This interesting, compact evergreen shrub is bathed in clusters of beautiful purple and white striped blooms that will emerge all season; an excellent choice to mass in groupings as a focal point of the garden; must have rich acidic soil Ornamental Features Encore® Autumn Twist® Azalea is bathed in stunning clusters of lightly-scented purple trumpet-shaped flowers with white overtones and pink spots at the ends of the branches from late spring to early fall. It has dark green evergreen foliage. The glossy narrow leaves remain dark green throughout the winter. Landscape Attributes Encore® Autumn Twist® Azalea is an open multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage. 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. Encore® Autumn Twist® Azalea is recommended for the following landscape applications; Planting & Growing Encore® Autumn Twist® Azalea will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground. 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.
