FLIMBY: Azaleas brighten shady spots

This is another installment in our Flowers in My Back Yard series, devoted to flowering plants.

Sacramento may be Camellia City, but it’s also azalea country.

Throughout the area’s older neighborhoods, these long-lived shrubs are now putting on massive displays of solid blooms.

Slow-growing, these resilient shrubs are also relatively drought-resistant – as long as they get enough shade. Once established, they can thrive for decades with only weekly watering. (During winter, shut the irrigation off if rain is normal.) Mulch is a must to keep their roots cool and soil evenly moist.

Like camellias, azaleas are native to Asian forests at about the same latitude as Sacramento. They love our California climate (wet winter, dry summer) and a spot facing east. A bonus for foothill gardeners: Deer don’t like azaleas. (That’s how these shrubs survive in forests.)

As with all plants (and other enterprises), key to azalea success is location, location, location. And luckily for Sacramento-area gardeners, one of the country’s best azalea-growing nurseries is right here.

Sacramento has earned a nationwide reputation for producing excellent azaleas thanks to Matsuda’s Nursery, which grows wholesale plants for sellers throughout California and northern Nevada.

Purchased by Green Acres Nursery & Supply in 2014, the 160-acre wholesale nursery produces a wide variety of perennials, shrubs and trees – more than a million plants annually. Founded in 1957, Matsuda’s Nursery made its name on azaleas, offering 80-plus varieties.

Green Acres offers Matsuda’s azaleas at its seven local stores as well as through other outlets. Matsuda’s also sells direct to landscape contractors.

Now is the best time to shop for azaleas – while they’re in bloom. Azaleas come in countless shades of pink and purple as well as soft reds, orange, coral and salmon plus pristine whites and combinations. (The white or lighter shade varieties tend to be able to take more sun.)

Developed for repeat flowering, the Encore or Bloom-a-thon hybrid series bloom in bursts throughout the year. Otherwise, most azaleas bloom once, usually in March or April. But that bloom period can last weeks.

As an under-story plant, azaleas are most at home under trees or in dappled shade. They can do well in an east-facing location where they get sun but plenty of afternoon shade. They can even bloom in full shade but do their best flowering with at least a little good morning light.

Azaleas need little if any pruning, but can be trimmed into hedges – and solid blocks of flowers. They also do very well in pots on a patio or balcony. (Satsuki azaleas make excellent blooming bonsai.)

Early spring or fall are the best times to plant this evergreen shrub. Also like camellias, they prefer soil on the acidic side (such as under a pine or redwood tree). With a mounding habit, azaleas can grow 2 to 8 feet tall, depending on the variety.

Here are more tips for azalea success from Matsuda’s and Green Acres:

* Best light is filtered or morning sun.

* Azaleas don’t like standing in water. They demand good drainage and slightly acidic soil (pH 5 or 6). Add compost or other organic matter to soil before planting.

* When planting, dig a wide hole only as deep as the rootball. Add organic acid soil planting mix and combine with some native soil. Plant with the crown (the base of the plant) slightly above the soil line to promote drainage.

* Mulch with organic material such as aged leaves, pine needles, wood chips or bark.

* Feed after bloom with fertilizer formulated for acid-loving plants. If foliage looks yellow, give them some chelated iron (it’s fast acting and easy for the plant to absorb). Yellow leaves also may be a sign of poor drainage or soil that's too alkaline.

* Azaleas often can go years without pruning but trimming the branches in summer after bloom or pinching them back will produce more flowers.