Strange Azalea
 

I have an informal hedge of 'George Taber' azaleas in front of my
camellias. The azaleas are blooming right now. A close-up photo of a
flower is at http://www.rossde.com/garden/GeoTaber.jpg.

One of the plants has a branch with flowers that are all dark pink (a
color sport), resembling 'Formosa'. (A photo of a 'Formosa' bush in
bloom is at http://www.rossde.com/garden/Formosa_azalea.jpg.) The
other flowers on this same plant are definitely 'George Taber'.

Has anyone else seen such a strange color sport?

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Strange Azalea
 

On Apr 25, 1:46*pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
I have an informal hedge of 'George Taber' azaleas in front of my
camellias. *The azaleas are blooming right now. *A close-up photo of a
flower is at http://www.rossde.com/garden/GeoTaber.jpg.

One of the plants has a branch with flowers that are all dark pink (a
color sport), resembling 'Formosa'. *(A photo of a 'Formosa' bush in
bloom is at http://www.rossde.com/garden/Formosa_azalea.jpg.) *The
other flowers on this same plant are definitely 'George Taber'.

Has anyone else seen such a strange color sport?

--
David E. Ross
Climate: *California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Hi David
Yes I have such an azalea. It was here when we moved in, and I don't
know the
name of it. It does look very much like 'George Taber'. (so I am going
with that
as a name) It is rather large robust plant, 4 ft and I keep it pruned
to that size.
It is also very good at rooting its bottom branches and producing new
plants.

So Yes, it has had solid darkish pink/magenta flowers produced on a
branch,
as yours has done.
But it also has produced branches that have blooms that are bi-
colored. They
look as if someone took a ruler and drew a line right down the middle
of each
bloom. One side of the flower is the solid dark pink and the other
side of the
"line" is a pure white. This occurs every few years, not every year.
I would say that "George" is a product of a cross between a pink plant
and a
white one, and every so often the genes "separate" into the two parent
plants.
(no photos, sorry)

Emilie
NorCal

Hi David,

'George Lindley Taber' is a sport of 'Omurasaki' which has a purple flower. What you are seeing is a reversion to the original phenotype. To make matters more interesting, you will also eventually see white self flowers on 'George Lindley Taber'. The white self sport has been named 'Mrs. G. G. Gerbing'. So, if you have 'George Lindley Taber', 'Mrs. G. G. Gerbing', or 'Omurasaki', you will eventually (at some later date) see the other two.

Bill Miller
Bethesda, MD
The Azalea Works Home Page

I didn't know about color spot, but If the plant gets too dry, wait about 15 minutes after the first watering and repeat watering in the same way. it is vital to understand the impact of cultural and environmental factors on this plant.