Azalea Girard 'Ashley Marie"

[griffon]

Saw these at a nursery today, very interesting but only a little name
tag and no other info, the nursery guy just said that they came in the
other day and he knew nothing about them. I can not find any useful
information via google searches, other than conflicting reports on
it's hardiness (found sites saying zone 5, 6, and 7.)

Anyone know anything about this one?

This nursery had a ton of interesting plants and shrubs. It is only
about a twenty to thirty minute drive from my house but until today I
had no clue how to find it. They had a gorgeous Lion's Head Maple
there for $375.00, it had the weirdest shape to it, but I've bought
way too much this spring to even consider buying another expensive
tree.

[David J Bockman]

The Girard Hybrid Azaleas were developed for cold hardiness & large flowers
by Girard Nurseries, Geneva Ohio. I've never heard of 'Ashley Marie',
although there is a 'Clare Marie', which is described thus:

"Large ruffled single white flowers up to 3" in diameter, very vigorous
upright grower, large light green foliage."

Dave

"griffon" > wrote in message
...
> Saw these at a nursery today, very interesting but only a little name
> tag and no other info, the nursery guy just said that they came in the
> other day and he knew nothing about them. I can not find any useful
> information via google searches, other than conflicting reports on
> it's hardiness (found sites saying zone 5, 6, and 7.)
>
> Anyone know anything about this one?
>
> This nursery had a ton of interesting plants and shrubs. It is only
> about a twenty to thirty minute drive from my house but until today I
> had no clue how to find it. They had a gorgeous Lion's Head Maple
> there for $375.00, it had the weirdest shape to it, but I've bought
> way too much this spring to even consider buying another expensive
> tree.

[Stephen M. Henning]

griffon > wrote:

> Saw these at a nursery today, very interesting but only a little name
> tag and no other info, the nursery guy just said that they came in the
> other day and he knew nothing about them.

I have never heard of this plant and it is not listed in books that list
the Girard azaleas that are in the trade. A reputable nursery knows the
source of their plants and knows what they are selling.

The Girard evergreen azaleas were developed by Peter Girard in Geneva,
Ohio, along Lake Erie. He started his breeding program in the late
1940's. His goal was to develop attractive hardy azaleas with good
compact habit. He used parent plants from Joe Gable from Stewartstown,
Pennsylvania.

In general Girard azaleas are hardy in from zone 6 to 9 and typically 4
to 6 foot high when 10 years old.

Girard Nursery has a website at:

http://www.girardnurseries.com/

But they don't list Ashley Marie at all. You might contact them and see
if they know of this plant that is being attributed to them.

Hoffman Nursery has a picture of an "Ashley Marie" at:

http://www.hoffmannurseryinc.com/images/azaleaashelymarie.JPG

but it is quite a bright red and they describe it as:

Ashley Marie - Pink bloom with a white margin on the leaves. Very
unique plant. Zone 6.

There is another photo of it at:

http://www.houstongardening.info/varazalea.jpg

Good Luck!

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