Characteristics
| Hardiness zone | 6a |
|---|---|
| Flower color | tomato |
| Foliage type | evergreen |
| Plant form | upright spreading |
| Mature height | 4 feet |
| Spread | 4 feet |
| Light requirements | full sun to partial shade |
| Moisture requirements | moist |
| Plant origin | hybrid |
Midnight Flare Azalea
Botanical name: Rhododendron ‘Midnight Flare’
An evergreen variety with striking tomato red blooms that cover the plant in mid spring; makes an impressive border or low screen; absolutely must have well-drained, highly acidic and organic soil.
Ornamental Features
Midnight Flare Azalea is covered in stunning clusters of tomato-orange trumpet-shaped flowers at the ends of the branches in mid spring. It has dark green foliage which emerges light green in spring. The glossy oval leaves remain dark green throughout the winter. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.
Landscape Attributes
Midnight Flare Azalea is an open multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.
This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Midnight Flare Azalea is recommended for the following landscape applications;
Mass Planting, General Garden Use, Container Planting
Planting and Growing
Midnight Flare Azalea will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.
This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth, but will die in standing water. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the leaves in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.
Midnight Flare Azalea makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
