Azalea japonica Melle

The Japanese Azalea Melle is a rare cultivated variety, spectacular in late spring when its foliage disappears under a multitude of beautiful two-tone pink and white, double flowers. This ericaceous shrub, with its pretty evergreen foliage, will liven up shady rockeries, terraces or the gaps under large rhododendrons, all year round.

The Hybrid Rhododendron Melle, classified as part of the Kurume Rhododendron Group, is a rarely available Belgian variety. It is a natural mutation of the Rhododendron 'Rosa' discovered in Oostakker, Belgium. It is a slow-growing, vigorous evergreen hybrid, which performs well in cool and humid temperate climates, with distinct seasons. This Melle variety is said to withstand freezing temperatures down to around -12/-15°C (10.4°F/5 °F). According to the information contained in the patent, this cultivar shows excellent tolerance to heat and drought.

'Melle' is a well-branched, dense variety, slightly spreading with age, that reaches about 1m (3 ft 4 in) in height and 1.40m (4 ft 7 in) in spread by the age of 10. Eventually, under optimal conditions, the shrub can reach or exceed 2m x 2m (6 ft 7 in x 6 ft 7 in). It blooms for about 3 weeks at the end of the Japanese azalea season, usually in June. The flowers have two rows of rather delicate petals, with a central area of dark pink mixed with lighter pink, while their fine edges are white. The centre is speckled with bright pink. They are funnel-shaped and gathered in terminal clusters of a few heads. The evergreen foliage consists of small, single, elliptical leaves with smooth edges, alternately arranged on the branches. The young, light green leaves become dark green in summer, take on orange tints in autumn and are dark green in winter. Each leaf has a lifespan of 3 years. Azaleas and Rhododendrons have a shallow root system that always needs to be kept moist, but they also dislike waterlogged soil which would suffocate the roots.

Japanese azaleas thrive in cool climates with distinct winters, planted in humus-rich, acid soil, such as ericaceous soil. In these conditions, they are very beautiful evergreen shrubs for borders or pots, attractive all year round. They harmonise beautifully with heathers, Japanese maples, or their Chinese relatives that change colour with the seasons, as well as Japanese camellias and their graceful, often fragrant, autumn-flowering cousins, the Camellia sasanqua hybrids. This unusually coloured, late-blooming Melle variety can be used to extend the flowering period of ericaceous beds, in the company of other Azaleas and Rhododendrons. Because of its slow growth, this variety can be grown for many years in a large, carefully-chosen pot, in suitable soil and watered with lime-free water.