I see it every day on my walk to the train station. It's about 5ft high.
A giant azalea?

Sure looks like an Azalea. They get big and they're in bloom now.

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- Jack D.




New tasteless sig coming soon!

Yep, azalea. They can get huge, in the right location.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

This thing is massive. How old do you think it is? This tall full blooming one must be getting lots of sun and food. I'm deeply envious!

There was an old azalea in my yard when we bought the house. It was more wide than high. Kinda mangy looking. I dug it up. The root ball was huge. and HEAVY.

Apropo of little, did you know that the first flower didn't appear on earth until maybe 135-160 million years ago? That's _after_ dinos and mammals came along, and maybe 250 million years after insects.

Seems weird to think of a world without flowers...

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3d
This thing is massive. How old do you think it is? This tall full blooming one must be getting lots of sun and food. I'm deeply envious!

Doesn't look that big to me.

My house growing up was surrounded by them, most much larger than that.

We used to have ones like that around here. Then the deer arrived. Now we have ticks that size.

Have you ever watched the Masters?
You will see just how huge and beautiful azaleas can be.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

My town is nick-named "Flowertown in the Pines" partly because of the thousands and thousands of azalea plants all over town. Cultivation of azaleas here began in the mid-1830s with stocks brought from China. I have four that I planted in front of my house in the early 1990s that are over 6 feet high. I need a ladder to keep them trimmed and shaped. They bloom here around the end of March for 2-3 weeks, and the town is just a riot of color: bushes everywhere with copious flowers in various shades of purple, pink, red, and white flowers. My favorite time of year.

Are these the same ones available at Home Depot for $10? Or is there something I should be looking for in the name at a nursery? It's hard to imagine a little 12 inch azalea can get this big. Unless this 5 footer is like 20 years old?

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3d
Are these the same ones available at Home Depot for $10? Or is there something I should be looking for in the name at a nursery? It's hard to imagine a little 12 inch azalea can get this big. Unless this 5 footer is like 20 years old?

Those small ones at the HD will get big, in the right place with the right conditions, but yes, it could take 10-20 years. I have some that are 5-6ft that I planted when they were small, maybe a 1 gallon size, but they have been there for over a decade. Rhododendrons, same family as the azalea but with larger flowers, get even bigger.

Azaleas like to be in a slightly shady locations, ideally with high filtered shade. They really like it under tall pine trees. They also like a slightly acidic soil, which the pine needles dropping around them helps to maintain.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Coffee grounds make a good mulch for azaleas/rhododendruns/gardenias.

Drove past the house in the pic below about a week ago, and had to go back a couple days later to take some pix.

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[www.zeemaps.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2014 07:48PM by The UnDoug.

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The UnDoug
Drove past the house in the pic below about a week ago, and had to go back a couple days later to take some pix.

What a yard! Is the fence to keep out deer?

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Northern California Coast

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steve...

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The UnDoug
Drove past the house in the pic below about a week ago, and had to go back a couple days later to take some pix.

What a yard! Is the fence to keep out deer?

Yes. Deer love to munch on azaleas, and most anything else that blooms, or has leaves, for that matter.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

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pdq
Apropo of little, did you know that the first flower didn't appear on earth until maybe 135-160 million years ago? That's _after_ dinos and mammals came along, and maybe 250 million years after insects.

Seems weird to think of a world without flowers...

[www.nature.com]

I am VERY envious of TheUnDoug's neighbor's yard... wow.

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)