Sprucing Up the Landscape for Fall Is as Simple as Adding Encore Azaleas

Sprucing up the landscape for the Thanksgiving holiday may seem like a daunting task, but if you already have the good bones of evergreen plant material, it may be as simple as adding some azaleas. You may be thinking azaleas are for spring, and you would be right. But with Encore® Azaleas, you get the number one repeat-blooming variety in the market. There are 32 varieties in the Encore® series that give you the opportunity to have azaleas blooming eight months of the year and almost continually throughout fall. We are talking Thanksgiving however, with the goal of looking our best for friends and family that will be visiting. Ten of the 32 Encore® varieties are known to be late fall-bloomers, so this may be where you want to concentrate your efforts. In these 10 selections, you’ll find colors that are sure to fit your palette. The award-winning Autumn Royalty®, with its vibrant purple blooms, has to be considered. It has the potential of creating complementary color schemes throughout the landscape, whether you are decorating with pumpkins or simply want to create added sizzle alongside fall foliage. The period from Thanksgiving to Christmas is certainly considered the season of red. Red also excels with pumpkins, fall leaves and harvest decorations. Autumn Ruby®, which is dwarf, and Autumn Bravo®, which is intermediate, open the door to the possibility of red blooms – creating a truly festive look from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Can we say, “Home for the Holidays?” Autumn Lily® may be just what is needed in those areas of the landscape that go unnoticed or require an element to draw attention. The color white does just that – it makes you look. Autumn Lily® is intermediate, 4- to 5-feet tall and produces a bounty of 3-inch blooms. Those unnoticed areas are also prime candidates for light pastel colors like Autumn Sweetheart®, which is a taller intermediate variety producing two shades of the same color of pink. These blooms, which may be single or semi-double, will draw the eye and mesmerize with their beauty. There are also three bi-colored selections that bloom in late fall, and by virtue of each containing white, give you added punch for your garden dollar. Autumn Starlite® (dwarf with pink flecks), Autumn Twist® (intermediate with purple), and Autumn Sunburst® (dwarf), all look as though they were designed by an artist. Autumn Sunburst®, the newest bi-colored selection, is as trendy as the 2019 Pantone Color of the Year – a rich living coral with white margins. This azalea, with its rare color, is for sure a must-have in the garden. The coral and white of Autumn Sunburst® will complement, in riveting fashion, the purple of Autumn Royalty®, and yet look soft and elegant with the reds of Autumn Ruby® and Autumn Bravo®. Lastly, there are two rich, vibrant pink selections that are worthy of letting dominate the landscape whether spring, summer or late fall. They are Autumn Cheer® (dwarf), and Autumn Sangria® (intermediate). Autumn Cheer® blooms have been called dainty because they are 1.5 inches, but the quantity is amazing with uncountable blooms. Autumn Sangria® is tall, and the blooms are large – more than 3-inches. These blooms have been called neon pink, but your thoughts may be “Holy Wow!”