Azalea japonica Mme Van Hecke

The 'Madame Van Hecke' Japanese Azalea is a variety cultivated for its multitude of medium-sized, luminous soft pink flowers, which appear in spring. It forms a small bushy, rounded evergreen shrub, wider than it is high, covered in dark green foliage that turns bronze with the passing seasons. Its small size makes it ideal  for planting in shady gardens where space is at a premium, or to decorate a window box. It is hardy and easy to grow, as long as it has a semi-shaded position and moist, well-drained, lime-free soil that is neither too dry nor too wet.

The 'Madame Van Hecke' Azalea is part of a series of evergreen hybrids very similar to the original Rhododendron kaempferi which was created in 1921. These shrubs do well in cool, damp temperate climates with distinct seasons.

'Madame Van Hecke' or 'Mme Van Hecke' is a small variety with a dense, rounded habit that spreads with age. Slow-growing, it reaches about 60 cm (23.6 in) in height and 80 cm (31.5 in) in spread. Its truly dazzling flowers bloom in May and last for a considerable time. The medium-sized flowers, about 4 to 5 cm (1.6 to 2 in) in diameter, with beautifully wavy edges, are a superb shade of soft pink. They are funnel-shaped and arranged 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 light green in spring whilst the late summer foliage is dark green with a glossy finish, turning bronze with the cold weather. 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 and ericaceous soil. They are beautiful 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 variety, 'Mme Van Hecke', which spreads more in width than in height, allows for playing with levels and filling in the gaps below large ericaceous shrubs. It will look wonderful in a large, cool, moist, shaded rockery or at the front of borders, as well as on a terrace or balcony, in a large, carefully chosen pot with a suitable compost, and watered with lime-free water.