Azaleas in NH
 

Our primary home is in the south, and we love our azaleas that do so well in the shade. There are zone 5-6 varietals, but my neighbor (NH native) says doesn't plant them because they don't survive well in NH. What's your experience? What variety?

My take. He’s right. It’s to cold. If you try it place south or southwest side.

We have a bush
 

We have a bush that is close to our front door. It receives a lot of sunlight from mid-morning until near sunset. Flourishes every year.

Dave

I have several, some on the north and some on the south side. Some get more sun, some get less. They all do well. I don't know the type, maybe they are made for NH?

we have a few and they come back every year, some in full sun, another in shade half the day

My azaleas on the south side (full sun) of the house do better than those in shade or on the north side. I have had good luck with Rhododendrons, both wild and domestic, standard and dwarf. Andromeda and Mountain Laurel also do well. Andromeda in particular thrives on the north side of my house. White flower, red/green leaves. For the most part, if you buy from a local NH garden center, you should be OK. Emphasis on LOCAL NH garden center. They have to sell product that works, not as an adjunct to appliances, wall paper, etc where the same seasonal stock goes to 100 stores throughout New England.
Plants with exposure to lots of winter winds may need to be protected in the winter.

mine are against front windows facing east and they flourish every year

In our experience, unless they are Zone 5 or even 4, they won't do well. We have some that have done well on the east side of our house where they are protected from the fierce winds that come off the lake. But the same species on the west side either struggle or don't make it at all.

Bottom line, Zone 5 plantings don't do well unless planted in a protected area.

Azaleas
 

We have a huge azalea in front of our house facing Northeast - it's in full bloom right now and it's spectacular. Comes back every year.

The builder put 2 in front of our house- north/north west facing- and they have been doing great 2 seasons in a row.

As we rode around the lake yesterday in the boat, I saw tons of them in blooming glory.

Rose of Sharon.

Visited a well known large nursery for plants/trees/shrubs/flowers and such.
Spoke with the owner.

Don't carry any Rose of Sharon because they do not survive in New Hampshire.

Purchased mail order Rose of Sharon 20 years ago and later. All of these mail order Rose of Sharon are doing just fine. With nice flowers later in season.

Wow, I don’t agree with your neighbor at all. Azaleas are everywhere here. I mentioned to a landscaper one time that I liked “PJM” and they cringed- too common!

Here in central NH, I have azaleas facing north and east under oaks in shade and part shade, facing west in full sun, and facing east under white pines in part sun. All of them thrive with no effort from me.

I’m not sure where you are exactly, but here around the lake, I’d stick with zone 5 as a pretty hard cut off. You can get away with zone 6 sometimes- I have a few. But while they limp along, they don’t flourish. I don’t bother with winter protection though. If you do, you might be able to push the horticultural zone a bit. The local nurseries only carry zone 5 or hardier (except annuals, of course.) And high quality mail order companies will typically void warranties if shipping plants to addresses here, if the plants aren’t hardy to zone 5 or colder.

I agree with Descant- if you buy from a local nursery, you’ll be fine. The local big box stores routinely sell zone 6 plants. (Plus their plants are often root bound or otherwise compromised.)

Another thing to consider- azaleas like acid soil- maybe that’s why your neighbor was disappointed? It’s easy enough to test and fix. The good news- I think you can certainly have azaleas!


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