FNPS Plant Database

Rhododendron austrinum

orange azalea, Florida azalea
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Eleanor Dietrich, Magnolia Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Eleanor Dietrich, Magnolia Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Eleanor Dietrich, Magnolia Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

orange azalea, Florida azalea

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Rhododendron austrinum

Family:

Ericaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

3-10 ft tall by 3-8 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

orange

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms spring. Life span likely less than 50 years (Nelson 2003).

Noted For:

Showy Flowers

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen plant. Can form large patches if allowed to do so.

Considerations:

Poisonous if ingested.

Availability:

Big Box Stores, Quality Nurseries, Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales, Specialty Provider, Seed, Friends

Propagation:

Light:

Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Somewhat moist, no flooding -to- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam

Soil pH:

Highly acidic to acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

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Vouchered In:

Distribution
Vouchered
Not vouchered
Selected
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Starting…
Map coded by Melissa Fernandez-de Cespedes (Paynes Prairie Chapter)

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Hummingbirds

Attracts pollinators, especially bees.

Attracts hummingbirds.

Native Habitats:

Slope forest, upland mixed forest, upland hardwood forest, bottomland forest. Rare.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

FNPS Plant Print

Citations:

Nelson, Gil. (2003). Florida's Best Landscape Plants: 200 Readily Available Species for Homeowners and Professionals. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


Traas, Pamela. (2001). Gardening for Florida's Butterflies. Great Outdoors Publishing Co., St. Petersburg, FL.


University of Tennessee Extension Service. (2010). Desired pH Range and salt tolerance of common nursery plants. ( https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2021/10/Desired-pH-Range-List.pdf ). Accessed 2026. University of Tennessee Extension, Knoxville.


Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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