Awesome. Good luck with them.

4 years later, how have they done? I want to get them for front of my house zone 6.

@@cnrmoose They’ve done amazingly well! I wound up planting 8 of them. 5 did get bit back by a late frost this year, so they only have a handful of blooms on them. 😔 But the other 3 who were a more protected corner near the front porch are perfect. Now, I will say that only those 3 protected ones have reached the full height on the tag of about 5 feet. The others who are more exposed to the sun, wind, etc are not as tall. They’re probably 3.5 feet tall. I do hope they get a bit taller over time, but even if they don’t, that’s okay. When they’re absolutely covered in blooms like they’ve been in the last 2 springs, they’re an absolute showstopper!!! Probably the most beautiful spring bushes in my yard.

@@cnrmoose I also planted 2 autumn lilac encore azaleas the same year. My son actually won them in a Jim Putnam giveaway at our local Home Depot several years ago!!! So my son who was 9 at the time chose the autumn lilac color. I didn’t know how I would like the paler purple flower, but they are absolutely gorgeous. They’re also slightly more protected- they’re at the bottom of our deck stairs (one on each side), so the frost didn’t get them either. My son chose that spot himself, so great choice on his part!! (The five autumn royalties that the frost got are foundation plants along the east side of my house.) So my advice would be either plant them in at area that will be protected from that last annoying frost that always seems to hit after things begin to bud out if that happens in your area… or be better than me at covering your plants when that happens! (In my defense, my daughter had a late late varsity soccer game far away that evening, so I covered nothing… but I’m still beating myself up over it! My 5 azaleas, 3 gardenias, and 3 of my 5 endless summer hydrangeas were damaged by that dang frost and don’t look like they’ll bloom well this spring. Dang it! 😖) Also, I’m in Zone 7B- tiny town in North GA about an hour south of Chattanooga, TN and an hour north of Atlanta. I’m not sure about Zone 6, but the encore azaleas do fantastically well in 7B.

Royalty is the closest to Formosa which is also super hardy

I have the same situation Only Autumn Royalty survived and thriving exceptionally, all other encores died same year it was planted

Good luck with them. Thanks for watching.

+Stephanie Barickman It would depend on the variety. The ones that get three feet wide, two feet away would be fine. The ones that get five feet wide, you will need them three feet away

excellent information. When is the best time to plant the Autumn Royal?

Yes, Pine straw = pine needles. Slightly acidic as well, just the way azaleas like it.

I know you left this comment a long time ago but I wonder if the deer are eating your exterior blooms. I live in town but I still have to cage mine because the deer love them so much. I only ever got a few blooms on mine that they missed.