Azalea japonica Madame Galle

Japanese Azalea 'Madame Galle' is an ornamental variety for all seasons, with its abundant, funnel-shaped, deep pink-red spring flowers and shiny, evergreen foliage in green and bronze! It is a small shrub with an irregular, upright habit, wider than it is tall, making it perfect for an ericaceous border. The almost purple to black tones of its foliage provide a striking contrast with its vibrant flowers, and brighten up borders containing the more common, dark green-leaved Japanese Azaleas. Hardy and robust, it should be planted in semi-shade in humus-rich, well-drained, moist, lime-free soil.

The 'Madame Galle' Azalea is part of a series of evergreen hybrids closely related to the original Rhododendron kaempferi created in 1921. These shrubs perform well in cool, damp temperate climates with distinct seasons.

'Madame Galle' is a medium-sized variety with an irregular upright habit that spreads with age. Slow-growing, it reaches approximately 70 cm (27.6 in) in height and 1 m (3 ft 4 in) in spread by the age of 10. Its truly dazzling flowers bloom over a long period in May. The very large 6 cm (2.4 in) diameter flowers with beautifully wavy edges are a stunning bright carmine-red. They are funnel-shaped and grouped in terminal clusters of 4 to 5 . The evergreen foliage consists of small, simple, elliptical leaves with smooth edges, arranged alternately on the branches. They are fairly light green in spring turning dark green and bronze in late summer. 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.

Japanese Azaleas thrive in cool climates with distinct winters, planted in humus-rich, ericaceous soil. They are very attractive evergreen shrubs for borders or containers, attractive all year round. They are a perfect accompaniment to heathers, Japanese maples, or their relatives, Chinese Azaleas, which change colour with the seasons as well as Japanese camellias, and their graceful, often fragrant, autumn-flowering cousins, the Camellia sasanqua hybrids. This 'Madame Galle' variety, which spreads more in width than in height, allows you to play with levels and fill the gaps beneath larger ericaceous shrubs. It will look wonderful in a large, cool, moist, shaded rock garden or at the front of borders, as well as on a terrace or balcony, in a large, carefully chosen pot with suitable compost and lime-free water for watering. Combine its bronze foliage with the purple foliage of the 'Crimson Queen' Japanese Maple or the orange foliage of 'Orange Dream' Japanese Maple.