Azalea japonica Repetita White - Perpetual japanese azalea

Azalea Repetita® White is a variety of azalea with perpetual flowering, remarkable for its dense, rounded habit and its pure white flowers with slightly wavy petals. Ideal for brightening up a shaded border, a damp rockery or a large planter, it thrives equally well in containers or in open ground. This hardy small bush prefers acidic, light soils that remain somewhat moist, without excess water. Its abundant spring flowering, renewed in summer and autumn, offers an elegant and luminous presence over a long period. It should be protected from scorching sun or dry wind, and watered regularly, especially in containers or during dry spells.

The Japanese Azalea or Hybrid Azalea Repetita® White, botanically designated Rhododendron 'RLH1-3P3' and marketed abroad as Bloom-A-Thon® White, belongs to the Ericaceae family. This cultivar was developed in the United States by horticulturists Robert and Lisa Head and results from hybridisations between japonica × indica species. This cultivar was selected for its ability to flower several times a year, a rare characteristic among azaleas. It stands out for its compact, rounded habit, forming a dense, bushy shrub. Its growth is moderate, reaching approximately 50 to 70 cm in height and spread after 10 years of cultivation in open ground. The single to semi-double flowers measure between 6 and 8 cm in diameter and are pure white. They appear abundantly in spring (April-May), with sporadic summer flowering and more marked flowering in autumn, until the first frosts. The flowering is mainly apical, meaning located at the tips of the stems. The flowers are sterile, producing neither fruits nor seeds. The foliage is semi-evergreen to evergreen, composed of dark green, narrow, slightly glossy leaves measuring 3 to 5 cm long. The stems are thin, flexible and brownish. The root system is shallow, fibrous and spreading, making the plant sensitive to prolonged droughts and poorly drained soils.

Azalea Repetita® White blends wonderfully into a light woodland setting, between the glossy leaves of Camellia ‘Jury’s Yellow’ and the vibrant clumps of Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’. Grown in containers, it becomes a bright focal point on a shaded terrace, where its white sparkles at dusk. It also finds natural harmony in border plantings with Azalea Repetita® Purple, or as a contrast to bronze foliage like that of Loropetalum ‘Fire Dance’.