North America has 16 native species of azaleas. They are native to the southeastern United States, except for Rhododendron occidentale and Rhododendron canadense as further noted under bloom times. All are deciduous. Clarence Towe has devised a mnemonic to help remember them, which is "1, 2, 3, 4, 5":

• 1 West coast azalea - occidentale (pictures)
• 2 Odd pinks - canadense, vaseyi"
• 3 Fragrant pinks - canescens, periclymenoides, prinophyllum
• 4 Fragrant whites - alabamense, arborescens, atlanticum, viscosum
• 5 Orange reds - austrinum, calendulaceum, cumberlandense, flammeum, prunifolium

Rhododendron eastmanii was recognized as a new species in 1999, which complicates the mnemonic by being a fifth fragrant white.
Perhaps "1, 2, 3, 4, 5; plus 1 new white"?

The East Coast Native Azaleas website is a stunningly beautiful visual overview and identification key for the azalea species native to the eastern United States. It was prepared by Donald W. Hyatt using images from the Species Study Group of the Middle Atlantic Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society.

The Georgia Native Azaleas website is devoted to native azaleas, prepared by Earl Sommerville with excellent images of azaleas from his garden near Atlanta, Georgia.

The Azalea Society picture website has pictures of native azaleas and their hybrids.

A page of identifying characters for North American native azaleas is available for download (13KB PDF file), Adapted from Dr. Kathleen Kron's analyses of deciduous azaleas, this "cheat sheet" and a hand lens can help in identifying a native azalea in the wild. Don Hyatt has an interactive online version which describes each of these identifying characters, and shows how close the characters you've entered match each of the native azalea species..

(compiled and provided by Mike Creel)

American Native Azaleas (in order of bloom)
  [Ed. notes: bloom times in central South Carolina; name links to USDA Plant Profiles]

Hoary Azalea Rhododendron canescens	March 25-April 25, pink to white, most common species
Florida Azalea* Rhododendron austrinum	March 25-April 25, yellow to orange, fragrant, native to GA, AL, FL
Pinkshell Azalea* Rhododendron vaseyi	April 5-22, pink to white, upper Piedmont & mountains [Ed. note: 3-4 weeks later in the mountains]
Oconee Azalea Rhododendron flammeum	April 15-May 15, orange to red, withstands heat, drought
Alabama Azalea* Rhododendron alabamense	April 22- May 15, white, blooms before leaves
Coast Azalea Rhododendron atlanticum	April 22-May 11, white to pink, midlands-coast, spreads
Pinxterflower Rhododendron periclymenoides	April 22-May 16, pink to white, does well statewide
May White Rhododendron eastmanii	Mid-May, white, yellow blotch, fragrant, blooms after leaves
[Ed. note: R. eastmanii is a new species, named and documented by Kathleen Kron and Mike Creel, 1999]
Roseshell Azalea* Rhododendron prinophyllum	May, suitable only for high altitudes
Swamp Azalea Rhododendron viscosum	May 16-June 16, white, fragrant, likes wet sites
Flame Azalea Rhododendron calendulaceum	May 28-June 25, orange to red, Piedmont & mountains
Cumberland Azalea* Rhododendron cumberlandense	June-July, orange-red, upper Piedmont & mountains, cool
Sweet Azalea Rhododendron arborescens	June 15-Aug 15, white, fragrant, very smooth all over
Plumleaf Azalea* Rhododendron prunifolium	June 25-Sept. 10, red to orange, smooth foliage, Georgia native
Hammocksweet Azalea Rhododendron viscosum var. serrulatum	July 12-Aug 30, white, fragrant, often forms colonies

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*Species not native to South Carolina. Listed species will grow well in South Carolina with exceptions explained.

All American species are listed here except for Rhododendron canadense (Rhodora, native from Canada south to Pa and NJ) and Rhododendron occidentale (Western Azalea, native to northern CA, WA, OR).

(compiled and provided by Mike Creel)

Listed below are a few nurseries that sell native azalea seedlings, cultivars and other native plants.

Woodlanders 1128 Colleton Ave. Aiken, SC 29801 Mail Order (Phone 803-648-7522) Catalog $2	Nurseries Caroliniana 100 E. Hugh Street (off US 25) North Augusta, SC 29841 (Phone 803-279-2707)
Wayside Gardens 1 Garden Lane Hodges, SC 29695 (Ordering 1-800-845-1124) http://www.waysidegardens.com	Oak Hill Farm, Mrs. Betsy Johnson 205 Thomas Road Clover, SC 29710 Native Azaleas, Catalog $1 (Phone 803-222-4245)
Wavering Place Gardens & Nursery Route 2 Box 269, Adams-Haynes Road     Eastover, SC 29044 Julian Adams, (Phone 803-783-1682) Send SASE for descriptive price list	Sterling Garden Center PO Box 5996, Columbia, SC 29250 320 Senate St., Columbia, SC 29201 Fran & Walter Bull, local sales (Phone 803-252-7333) (Fax 803-779-7861)
We-Du Nurseries Rt. 5 Box 724 Marion, NC 28752 Plants, Catalog $2 (Phone 828-738-8300) http://www.we-du.com	Virginia Natives PO Box D Hume, VA 22639 Plants, Catalog $1.25 (Phone 540-364-1665)
Pushepetappa Gardens 2317 Washington Street Franklinton, LA 70438 (Phone John Thornton 504-839-4930)	Thomasville Nurseries PO Box 7 Thomasville, GA 31799-0007 (Phone 912-226-5568)
Lamtree Farm, Lee A. Morrison 2323 Copeland Road Warrensville, NC 28693 Woody plants, Catalog $2 (Phone 919-385-6144)	Native Gardens Ed & Meridith Clebsch 5737 Fisher Lane Greenback, TN 37742 Plants & Seeds Catalog $2 (Phone 423-856-0220)
Salter Tree Farm Rt. 2, Box 1332 Madison, FL 32340 (Phone 904-973-6312)	The Cummins Garden 22 Robertsville Road Marlboro, NJ 07746 Catalog $1 (Phone 732-536-2591)
Fairweather Gardens PO Box 330 Greenwich, NJ 08323 Pitcher plants, plants Catalog $3 (Phone 609-451-6261)	Fern Valley Farms 1624 Fern Valley Road Yadkinville, NC 27955 SASE with 64 cents postage Woody Plants (Phone 336-463-2412)
Boone's Native Seed Company PO Box 10363 Raleigh, NC 27605	Crownsville Nursery PO Box 797 Crownsville, MD 21032 (Phone 410-849-3142) Plants, Free Catalog http://www.crownsvillenursery.com
Mail-Order Natives PO Box 9366 Lee, FL 32059 (Phone 850-973-4688) monatives@aol.com	Lazy K Nursery, Inc. 705 Wright Road Pine Mountain, GA?31822 (706) 663-4991 http://www.lazyknursery.com mail@lazyknursery.com

#CALL NURSERIES BEFORE VISITING.

locations . . . (a database of native azaleas in the wild . . . someday)
azaleas (parent page)