#flame azalea

[snototter]

Flame azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceum) in North Carolina

by Alan Cressler

[flowerishness]

Rhododendron calendulaceum (flame azalea)

This orange flame azalea is in full bloom and "orange" you glad it is? Oh no, I've just made a pun. "Orange" sounds a little like "aren't" and most people get the gag. Of course, some folks absolutely hate puns. They think that people who pun should be pun-ished or maybe banished forever to the pun-itentiary! Who would think that this beautiful flame azalea and a simple 'play on words' could generate that much controversy?

[forsythiahill]

One of my favorite shrubs, the flame azalea. Unlike the standard small around variety, these guys get tall. I can't grow a standard hybrid azalea to save me but my native flames are beautiful and healthy.

[faguscarolinensis]

Rhododendron calendulaceum / Flame Azalea at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[druidinvirginia]

flame azalea

[my-name-is-not-victoria]

Flame Azalea

[vandaliatraveler]

Flame azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceum) is a deciduous shrub of Appalachia's dry, upland woods, with a particular fondness for the thin, acidic soils of the Central and Southern Appalachian montane oak forests. In the southern part of its range, it masses in extensive, striking displays on grassy mountain balds. The plant's flowers range in color from pale yellow to scarlet red, although apricot red seems to be most common color phase in the local mountains. Needless to say, flame azalea is a popular ornamental shrub and a number of hardy cultivars exist.

Photos above were taken along the Highland Scenic Highway in the Monongahela National Forest this past weekend.

[monmorgandy]

Flame Azalea Southern Appalachian Mountains by Mark Via Flickr: Flowering Flame Azalea & Mountains Landscape Roan Highlands, Southern Appalachian Mountains Date taken: June 14, 2017 A classic scene from the Roan Highlands during the June bloom season: Flame Azalea flashing their bright orange coloring against a lush green backdrop of North Carolina mountains underneath a blue sky of building clouds.