Azalea Knaphill Mary Poppins

Azalea Mary Poppins (Knap Hill - Exbury) is a flamboyant variety of Chinese Azalea, as decorative for its red-orange flowers as for the spring and autumn colours of its foliage. In spring, its flowers bloom in clusters on a beautifully rounded plant with young leaves tinted copper-bronze. The foliage takes on fiery tones at the end of the season. Unlike Japanese azaleas, this plant is deciduous and very hardy. Too little known and too little used, deciduous Azaleas are infinitely graceful plants, thriving in lime-free soil, with a whole host of  qualities. They should be planted in the garden or in a large pot on the terrace without a moment's hesitation!

Azaleas are actually Rhododendrons, whose flowers have 5 stamens instead of 10. They are plants of the Ericaceous family, just like heather, mainly preferring lime-free, acidic soils and humid climates. 'Mary Poppins' is a hybrid cultivar from the Knap Hill-Exbury series. It is a compact bush with a rounded habit, reaching approximately 1.20 m (3 ft 11 in) in height and 1.10 m (3 ft 7 in) in spread by the age of 10. It flowers in early to late May, depending on the climate, at the same time as the leaves emerge. The wide open, star-shaped flowers, 3 to 4 cm (1.2 to 1.6 in) in diameter, are funnel-shape with a ruffled edge, and are gathered in terminal clusters of 20 to 30. They are a mix of gold and varying intensities of orange. The deciduous foliage is composed of simple, oval-lanceolate, smooth-edged leaves, arranged alternately on the branches. They vary from 5 to 10 cm (2 to 3.9 inches) in length. Their colour changes from bronze-copper to green in summer, turning red at the end of October before falling. Azaleas and Rhododendrons have a shallow root system that always needs to be kept moist, but they also dislike waterlogged soil which would suffocate the roots.

Deciduous Chinese Azaleas have fewer requirements than evergreen Japanese azaleas: they are very hardy, and tolerate sun and heat better, and even  occasionally dry soil depending on the hybrids. They will, however, be at their best in cool climates with distinct winters, planted in humus-rich, fertile, lime-free soil. They are beautiful shrubs for borders, with a very attractive, natural habit, blooming twice a year. They are a perfect accompaniment to Japanese maples, which also change their appearance with the seasons, as well as Japanese camellias or their graceful, often fragrant, autumn flowering cousins, the C.sasanqua hybrids. 'Mary Poppins' will be magnificent when combined with other Chinese Azaleas in shades of white, orange, peach or red. The undeniable beauty of deciduous Azaleas merits the changes needed to create the conditions they love. They can also be grown in a large, carefully chosen pot with suitable compost, and watered with non-alkaline water.