'White Rosebud' Azalea
"Azaleas -- whitest of white!
White as the drifted snow
Fresh-fallen out of the night,
Before the coming glow
Tinges the morning light;
When the light is like the snow,
White,
And the silence is like the light:
Light, and silence, and snow, --
All -- white!"
-Harriet McEwen Kimball,
1834-1917
1834-1917
We'd never heard of 'White Rosebud' Azalea when we first saw it & were not influenced by its established fame. Without advance knowledge of it, we just knew at first glance that it was distinct among azaleas, with just a terribly beautiful flower.
The flowers occur April & May, singly rather than in trusses, but in great numbers all over a dark-green evergreen shrub, with new spring leaves being yellow-green for a little while. The flowers are "very full doubles" hence the name "white rosebud," as they do look more like rose than azalea flowers, or like double camellias. A touch of green in the throat is at once strange & beautiful, a perfect touch to make them outstanding even among other white rhodies & azaleas. The buds are white as well, & do look like white rosebuds.
'White Rosebud' was developed by Dr. August Kehr, & additonal cultivars were developed out of it, to get other colors of rose-like doubles. "Augy" Kehr, a past president of the America Rhododendron Society, has been honored with both the ARS Bronze & the ARS Gold medals for his contributions to rhododendron cultivation. He began developing his hybrids in North Carolina in the early 1960's, & became both his life's work & his life's achievement.
The group has in general a low-growing habit, plus the double flowers not in trusses. The entire Kehr series is recommendable both for blossom & ease of care, justly classed as a Top Performer by the ARS. 'White Rosebud' is even more cold-hardy than most, doing well to minus ten degrees F.Their closest affinities are for Kurume hybrids, but the flowers tend to be larger. 'White Rosebud' is one of the largest-flowered (two to three inch doubles & extremely fluffy), & seems to be the most famous & best loved of the series. Though it likes the sun, the white flowers do sunburn easily. Getting the ideal balance between dappled sunlight & bright shade is essential for best performance.
It grows rapidly when young & is capable of becoming gangly especially if in too much shade. While young it can do with occasional hard prunings so that it ages with a more compact habit; eventually it will need no more pruning than any other hardy evergreen azalea.