Are you searching for a sensational small shrub that will enhance your landscape year-round? Then, plan to include Autumn Fire® in your garden design.
An ideal welcome to warmer weather, Autumn Fire will delight your senses with its 2½-inch true red blooms in spring, summer and fall. It also looks great when it’s cold, as it boasts glossy green foliage that intensifies into an attractive purple bronze hue during winter.
Its nectar-rich flowers will attract butterflies and hummingbirds. If you plant multiples of these beautiful azaleas near a window or bench, you will be rewarded with the many pollinators the blooms invite to your garden.
Autumn Fire is a slow-growing dwarf shrub that requires little pruning. It can easily be maintained at 2- to 3-feet tall and 3-feet wide. It is ideal to plant beside walks or in front of garden beds, and works well in containers. It is also compatible with other azaleas, as well as various flowers and shrubs. For a striking effect, plant Autumn Fire en masse or as a hedge.
Like all Encore Azaleas, Autumn Fire likes more sun than traditional azaleas, growing well in full sun or beneath trees that allow sunlight to filter through. For best bloom production, site Autumn Fire where it will receive 4- to 6-hours of direct sun daily. Morning sun is ideal.
Plant Autumn Fire in slightly acid soil enriched with plenty of organic matter. Remember, azaleas like damp soil that drains easily – their shallow roots will rot if allowed to stand in water. To promote drainage, azaleas should be planted high, with the root ball an inch or two above the soil line. Slowly soak the plants with about 3 inches of water when first planted and keep them moist thereafter. Your Encore Azaleas should not be allowed to dry out their first year. Once they are well established, they will require less water, usually needing supplemental watering only during dry spells.
A 3-inch layer of pine straw, shredded bark or compost will protect the roots from extreme temperatures and will inhibit weed growth. As the mulch breaks down, it will improve the soil and provide nutrients to the plant. Renew the mulch each spring. Fertilize with an azalea fertilizer after the threat of frost has passed in spring and again in August before the fall flush of blooms. Any pruning should be done immediately after spring flowering to avoid removing buds that have set.
