Elepidote Rhododendron: 'Fantastica'

Flower 1¾ to 2" across, strong purplish pink, shading to white in throat, lightly spotted greenish-yellow.  Ball-shaped trusses hold 18-20 flowers.  Blooms midseason to late midseason.  Leaves elliptic, 4" long, dark green with wooly, tan-colored indumentum.  Dense and compact shrub.  Grows to a typical height of 3 ft. in 10 years.  Cold hardy to -15°F (-26°C).  Hybridized by Hachmann.

Lepidote Rhododendron: augustinii

Flower blue to purple, pink, lavender or white, blotched or spotted olive green, ochre or purple, 1½ - 2" across.  Held in clusters with 2 - 6 flowers.  Blooms early midseason to midseason.  Leaves narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, up to 4½" long, ½ - 1" wide, dark green above, underside densely scaly with hairs along veins.  Tall, upright plant habit.  Grows to a typical height of 6 ft. in 10 years.  Plant and bud hardy to 0° F (-18° C).  Named after Augustine Henry, who discovered it in 1886.  Native species growing in the wild in Hubei and Szechwan China.

Evergreen Azalea: 'Balsaminiflorum'

Flower deep yellowish pink, 1½" across, double with about 40 petals and no pistils or stamens.  Blooms very late.  Leaves elliptic, light green.  Low, mounding, dense plant habit.  Grows to a typical height of 3 ft in 10 years.  Cold hardy to 0° F (-18° C).  Raised in Japan and named by Carrière.

Deciduous Azalea: R. occidentale

Flower very variable, white, white flushed pink, or pale pink, often with a yellow blotch, fragrant, 1½ - 2" across, broadly funnel-shaped.  Inflorescence usually 3-12 flowers.  Blooms late midseason.  Leaves usually oblanceolate, sometimes linear or orbicular, deciduous, 1 - 5" long, ½ - 1½" wide.  Upright growth habit.  Grows to a height of 5 - 8 ft. in 10 years.  Cold hardy to -5°F (-21°C).  Native species growing in the western U.S. from southern California to Washington.