Autumn Monarch Azalea

Autumn Monarch Azalea (Azalea x hybrida 'Autumn Monarch') is a repeat flowering azalea, which means a main show in spring and a second flush later in the year rather than one brief week of colour. It is a compact evergreen shrub reaching about 1.2m tall and 1.2m wide, dense enough for a low hedge and neat enough for a pot.

Why you'll love it

• It flowers more than once. Repeat flowering types carry a spring display and a further flush later on, so the bed is not bare for eleven months.
• A genuinely compact shrub. About 1.2m each way, small enough to sit under a window or along a path without constant cutting back.
• Evergreen structure. The foliage holds through winter, so the shape stays intact between flowering flushes.
• It handles humidity. Humidity tolerant and frost hardy, so it performs from subtropical gardens through to cool temperate ones.
• Happy in part shade. Useful in the awkward beds where sun lovers sulk.

Where it works best

Hedging and low borders. Plant 80cm apart for a low flowering hedge. At that spacing the bushes knit into a continuous line and keep foliage down to the base.

Mass planting. Use the same 80cm spacing through a larger shaded bed, where groups read far better than single specimens dotted about.

Pots and feature planting. A 400mm pot suits one plant, and container growing holds it slightly below full size. Use an acid potting mix, not a standard one.

Growing Autumn Monarch Azalea in Australia

Position and climate. Part shade, ideally morning sun with protection from hot afternoon sun, which scorches the leaves and shortens the flowering. It suits subtropical, warm temperate and cool temperate gardens and is frost hardy once established.

Soil. This is the part that decides whether you succeed. Azaleas need acidic, free draining soil rich in organic matter. On alkaline or clay soils, plant into a raised bed of azalea and camellia mix, and mulch with pine bark or leaf litter to keep the pH down.

Water and feed. The roots are shallow and fibrous, so it dries out faster than its size suggests. Water deeply twice a week through summer and keep 50mm of mulch over the root zone. Feed with an azalea and camellia fertiliser after each flowering flush.

Pruning. Light tip pruning immediately after the spring flush keeps it dense and sets up the next round of buds. Avoid hard pruning late in the season, since that removes the wood the following flowers come from.

What to expect when it arrives

This one is sold as tube stock. Tubes are young plants under 20cm tall with a few branches, the practical way to buy azaleas in the numbers a hedge needs. Expect two to three seasons before a tube planted row closes into a solid low hedge, and the first meaningful flowering in the second year.

Young azaleas travel well, though some leaf drop after transit is normal. Plant into properly prepared acidic soil rather than unimproved ground, water in well and mulch. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read the complete azalea care guide.
• Compare varieties in the azalea collection.
• How to lower soil pH for azaleas on alkaline ground.
• Browse other evergreen shrubs.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

Set the plants at 80cm centres for a low hedge. Each bush spreads to about 1.2m, so that spacing gives a continuous line without the plants shading each other out at the base.

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

No. All azaleas are toxic to cats and dogs, and eating the leaves or flowers can cause serious illness. Plant it out of reach of pets that chew foliage, and see a vet promptly if any is eaten.

Why are the leaves turning yellow between the veins?

Almost always soil pH. Azaleas cannot take up iron from alkaline soil, which yellows the leaf while the veins stay green. Correct it with an acidifying fertiliser, pine bark mulch and chelated iron.