Weston's Lemon Drop Azalea
Rhododendron 'Weston's Lemon Drop'
Height: 8 feet
Spread: 8 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 4b
Group/Class: Weston Hybrids
Description:
A showy deciduous variety with buttery yellow blooms that emerge in late spring to early summer, creating an impressive border or low screen; absolutely must have well-drained, highly acidic and organic soil
Ornamental Features
Weston's Lemon Drop Azalea is covered in stunning clusters of lightly-scented buttery yellow trumpet-shaped flowers with yellow throats at the ends of the branches from late spring to early summer, which emerge from distinctive peach flower buds before the leaves. It has bluish-green deciduous foliage. The glossy narrow leaves turn an outstanding red in the fall.
Landscape Attributes
Weston's Lemon Drop Azalea is an open multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a more or less rounded form. 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.
Weston's Lemon Drop Azalea is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Accent
- Mass Planting
- General Garden Use
Planting & Growing
Weston's Lemon Drop Azalea will grow to be about 8 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. 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. You may want to keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. 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 foliage 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.
