Azalea japonica Vuyks Rosyred

The Vuyk's Rosy Red Japanese Azalea is an old Dutch variety with beautiful foliage, still valued for its luxuriant blooms that smother a beautiful spreading shrub in late spring. Its very large, satin flowers, more pink than red, are a vibrant pink, intensified by a deeper carmine centre. With its mostly evergreen foliage, this brilliant Azalea is decorative all year round. Like its sister Vuyk's Scarlet, it is also a reliable and hardy plant that will add a unique touch to shaded rockeries or the gaps under tall Rhododendrons.

Vuyk's Rosy Red Rhododendron, resulting from unknown parents, was bred in the Vuyk van Nes nurseries, in the early 1950s. It is part of a series of evergreen hybrids called Vuykiana, closely related to Rhododendron kaempferi, with the contribution of the Belgian Indica Azalea, developed in 1921. They perform well in our cool and humid climate with distinct seasons. This variety received an award from the Royal Horticultural Society in England in 1993 for its ornamental qualities and performance in the garden.

'Vuyk's Rosy Red' is a medium to large-sized variety with a initially rounded dense habit that spreads with age. It is slow-growing and reaches a height of only about 1m (3 ft 4 in) and a spread of 1.50m (4 ft 11 in) by the age of 10. Its truly dazzling flowers bloom over a long period in May-June. The very large 6-8cm (2.4-3.1 in) diameter flowers are a beautiful intense pink, enhanced by an even more intense pink dusting and a blotch in the centre. They are funnel-shaped and are grouped in terminal clusters of 4 to 5. The foliage, more or less evergreen depending on the severity of winter, consists of small simple, elliptical, entire, shiny leaves arranged alternately on the branches. They are light green in spring, darkening in summer. This variety is hardy down to -15°C (5°F). 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 and ericaceous soil. They are beautiful evergreen shrubs for borders or containers, attractive all year round. They are a perfect accompaniment to heathers, Japanese maples, or their relatives, Chinese Azaleas, which change colour with the seasons. Combine them with flowering cherry trees, Japanese camellias, and their graceful cousins, the often fragrant, autumn-flowering hybrids of C.sasanqua. This Vuyk's Rosy Red variety, which is wider than it is tall, allows you to play with different levels and fill the gaps under large ericaceous shrubs. It will look wonderful in a large, cool and shaded rockery or at the front of flower beds in a small Japanese or romantic-style garden, or on a terrace or balcony, in a large, carefully chosen pot, with suitable compost and watered with alkaline-free water.