Bitterroot Restoration

Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Rhododendron

Azaleas are flowering shrubs making up part of the genus Rhododendron. It bloom in spring, their flowers dying only a few weeks later. Azaleas do not need as much sun as other plants; they live near trees and sometimes under them.

Azaleas allow themselves to be moldable, and therefore are often forced for Christmas and holiday-season use. Modern hybrids produce a mass of ruffled or double, white, pink, red or bi-colored flowers that almost obscure the foliage. Although they cannot tolerate frost, they will rapidly die if kept too warm; an average temperature works best, so a porch, hall or stairwell is generally the best site for them if you are going to keep azaleas as houseplants.