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The Tyler Azalea and Spring Flower Trail is here once again, and vivid azalea blooms are lighting up East Texas.

Regardless of whether you are on the Trail or live in the country, you too can enjoy these beautiful and colorful plants in your own yard. Azaleas thrive in East Texas due to the plentiful shade, frequent rainfall (normally), and sandy, well-drained, acid soils, all of which combine to provide the right ingredients for growing these spring-blooming beauties.

Azaleas are a diverse group of plants. They belong to the genus Rhododendron, but are quite different the rhodies so common "up north."

Azaleas are classified into several major hybrid groups based on their breeding. Their blooms may be single or double, and flowers range widely in both color and size. Azaleas have different growth habits from compact to large shrubs, with small, medium or large leaves. And their blooming season can vary from early March to late spring and early summer, and even repeat bloom in the fall.

Some of the common hybrid variety groups include Kurume, Southern Indica, Glendale, Robin Hill, Rutherford, Satsuki and Encore. Within each group there may be dozens of different varieties to choose from. There are also several azaleas native to the United States that perform well in our area.

Many of the varieties which bloom early during the Tyler Azalea Trail are of the Kurume and Southern Indica types. These evergreen plants typically are of small stature, growing from about three to six feet, with dense foliage and a twiggy branch structure. They have a moderate growth rate.

Southern Indica varieties tend to be 6 to 12 feet, with larger leaves and large, showy flowers. A group with similar characteristics would be the Glenn Dale Hybrids, bred to have greater cold hardiness.

DWARF VARIETY

Gumpo azaleas are a very dwarf group of plants with tiny leaves and a tight, low growth habit. They bloom much later, typically in May, and the very large blooms are often partly hidden in the new growth. They make nice landscape plants where dwarf plants are needed.

Satsuki is a Japanese word which means "Fifth Month" and many Satsuki types bloom in May and into June, greatly extending the blooming season. They are generally low growing, from 2 to 4 feet, with a similar spread. Bloom color can vary greatly; some varieties can have blooms with streaks or blotches of white or other colors.

There are many other hybrid groups, many with just one or a few popular varieties in the south. "Sunglow'' (deep rose pink or purple red) is a pretty Carla hybrid, as is the very similar "Adelaide Pope.'' Girard hybrids "Hot Shot'' and "Rose'' are mid to late season blooming. "Red Ruffles'' and "Pink Ruffles'' - two popular varieties in Tyler - belong to two different groups.

The Robin Hill hybrid group includes several mid to late blooming varieties including "Watchet'' (light pink), "Nancy of Robinhill'' (pink), "Conversation Piece'' (pink with sectors and blotches of darker pink on some flowers).

Did you know that there is an azalea that is native to Smith County and Northeast Texas? Rhododendron oblongifolium is a deciduous azalea found in sandy soils along some creeks in East Texas with small, white flowers that bloom in late May. There are other native, deciduous azaleas with showier flowers.

One which I enjoy in my yard is called the Piedmont azalea (R. canescens) with attractive, fragrant, pink or white blooms that appear at this time of year.

With proper selection, you can have a continuous display of azaleas blooming from mid March through May or early June. Some azaleas will also repeat bloom in the fall.

This would include the Encore Azaleas, bred for an encore performance in the late summer and fall.

GREAT VIEWING

A great place to view all of the Encore varieties is in the Ina Brundrett Azalea Garden, located on the Tyler Junior College campus just east of Jenkins Hall, near the "duck pond".

Azalea blooming season is usually classified in general terms as early, mid or late. The Tyler Azalea Trail is based mainly upon early blooming varieties.

If you decide to extend the azalea blooming season into April and May, don't place early and mid-season, or mid-season and late azaleas right next to each other in the same bed.

The fading blooms of the early flowers often detract from the newly opening blooms of the mid-season flowers.

Rather, place early and late varieties close together, and grow the mid-season types in their own, separate area.

Watch out for clashing colors. Some colors are not complimentary and if planted together, can detract from the intended effect. The color of the blooms should also compliment the colors of the house and other plants in the landscape.

Before making a final purchase, take time to develop a landscape plan.

The varieties you select should enhance the beauty of the yard, not distract from it or become a maintenance chore.

Pay attention to the ultimate size of the plants.. Don't let those "cute little plants" fool you! They may quickly grow into full, large plants, overtaking smaller growing nearby plants if you neglected to consider the ultimate size of each variety.

I'll be in the IDEA Garden, in the Tyler Rose Garden on Tuesday, for the "First Tuesday in the Garden" series in the IDEA Garden, starting at noon.

I'll be giving a short talk on growing and maintaining azaleas. Seating is limited so you might want to bring a lawn chair and a hat for your comfort.

Keith Hansen is Smith County Horticulturist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

His Web page is EastTexasGardening.tamu.edu. His blog is tceblogs.tamu.edu/mt/etg Texas AgriLife Extension Service educational programs are open to all individuals without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age or national origin.