{"id":9333,"date":"2018-04-19T12:00:15","date_gmt":"2018-04-19T16:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=9333"},"modified":"2018-03-28T17:17:41","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T21:17:41","slug":"uniquely-different-spider-azalea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2018\/04\/19\/uniquely-different-spider-azalea\/","title":{"rendered":"Uniquely Different Spider Azalea"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"R.<\/a>

R. stenopetalum ‘Linearfolium’ at Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC<\/p><\/div>\n

Although rarely seen, spider azalea (Rhododendron stenopetalum \u00a0‘<\/em>Linearfolium\u2019) will be a pleasing addition to your woodland garden (USDA hardiness zones 6-8). Few\u00a0people would ever guess\u00a0that it is<\/em> an azalea. This airy shrub grows 3-4 feet tall and a whole lot\u00a0wider. It is slow growing, but is\u00a0worth the wait.\u00a0This unique\u00a0semi- evergreen azalea\u00a0hails\u00a0from Japan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

April blooming spider azalea.<\/p><\/div>\n

The very narrow (ribbon-like) leaves of spider azalea are mostly deciduous, nearly 3 inches long, and crinkly textured. \u00a0The pink April\/May flowers are very spider-like and appear in terminal clusters of three. Flowering may last 4-6 weeks in a dappled shade garden locale and are lightly fragrant up close.<\/p>\n

Flowers are unique in that the \u00a01 1\/4 inch-long pink sepals tend to be slightly\u00a0larger than\u00a0the pink petals. Flowers are borne on tips of branches. The overall shrub is finely\u00a0textured and will catch the attention of friends and visitors to your garden.<\/p>\n

Spider azalea\u00a0thrives in cool shade, best in partial day sun, preferably in the morning. Roots\u00a0demand a moist, humus-rich, well drained, acidic soil and\u00a0high shade that permits filtered sunlight. Do not plant\u00a0in\u00a0deep shade. The foliage is easily harmed by dry winds.<\/p>\n

Feed spider azalea at the same time as you fertilize other azaleas and rhododendrons — once annually in late winter or early spring. Use a slow release fertilizer such as Osmocote\u2122 or Nutrikote\u2122. Maintain a 2-3 inch layer of an acidic based mulch comprised of pine needles or pine bark chips. Pruning is rarely needed and performed to shape the plant or to remove a dead or broken small branch. Irrigate as needed the first year to establish new shrub. Disease or pest troubles are rarely seen.<\/p>\n

A number of sources, including Niche Gardens in Chapel Hill in North Carolina and Woodlanders Nursery in South Carolina, NC, list the variety ‘Seigai’.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although rarely seen, spider azalea (Rhododendron stenopetalum \u00a0‘Linearfolium\u2019) will be a pleasing addition to your woodland garden (USDA hardiness zones 6-8). Few\u00a0people would ever guess\u00a0that it is an azalea. This airy shrub grows 3-4 feet tall and a whole lot\u00a0wider. It is slow growing, but is\u00a0worth the wait.\u00a0This unique\u00a0semi- evergreen azalea\u00a0hails\u00a0from Japan. The very narrow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,1218,1319,299,605,144,674,806,665,1012,853,551,843,601,729,777,1210,630,1436,705,646,7,113,455,162,642],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9333"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9333"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10070,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9333\/revisions\/10070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}