Buy Autumn Fire™ Encore® Azalea Online Draw Attention to Your Garden with the Autumn Fire Encore Azalea Shrub The Autumn Fire Azalea is a gorgeous shrub that will draw eyes to your landscape from down the road! This shrub grows clusters of bright red flowers in the spring and will periodically bloom through summer and into fall. The plant will stop flowering at the first frost. The flowers have a velvety feel and look like double flowers. Some plants may bloom so much that you hardly see the foliage. The foliage is shiny dark green, which compliments the flowers beautifully. When the blooming rate dies down in the fall, you’ll notice the foliage turn to an elegant purply-bronze color that pairs well with the final blooms. The Encore Azalea Autumn Fire is a small shrub that works well in small gardens. You can use them in containers or plant them as low hedges, accent plants, and in flower beds or sidewalk borders. You can plant several together to create a stunning sea of red and green. How to Care for Azalea Encore Autumn Fire The Encore Azalea Fire grows 2-3 feet tall and wide. It’s a compact plant that doesn’t need to be pruned to keep it contained. It grows best in hardiness zones 6-10. The flowers are frost sensitive and will require protection in the spring and fall. The shrub can withstand freezing temperatures but will benefit from cold protection. The Autumn Fire Azalea grows best in partial shade with 4-6 hours of direct sun. Morning sun and afternoon shade is the best way to protect this plant from extreme heat and keep the plant happy. It can tolerate full sun, but you’ll need to provide extra water to keep the soil cool and moist. Azaleas like moist soil. The more sun the plant receives, the more water it will need. Never allow the soil to dry out completely. Depending on your climate and the plant’s exposure to the sun, you’ll likely have to water this shrub at least once each week and more often during periods of extreme heat. Azaleas prefer slightly acidic soil and aren’t picky about the soil type. They’ll grow well in clay, loam, or sandy soil as long as it’s well-draining. Although they like plenty of water, azaleas don’t like soggy soil or standing water, so be sure excess water can drain away quickly. Azaleas have shallow root systems, so be sure you plant the shrubs shallowly. Removing spent flowers will encourage azaleas to grow new blooms. Prune the plant immediately after the shrubs finish flowering in the spring to encourage summer and fall growth. Don’t prune the plant in summer or fall, or you’ll risk removing the buds that have yet to bloom, and you won’t see any more blooms until next spring. You likely won’t need to prune azaleas to control their size, but you can remove excess growth or unwanted branches as needed or prune the plant in late winter or early spring before new buds appear. Shop the Autumn Fire Encore Azalea for sale today! Check out all our Azalea shrubs for sale.
