the following is detailed description of the new variety of azalea based on my observations made of plants grown in wholesale commercial production practices , in greenhouses , and in established landscape plantings in forest hill , la ., and was compiled with the assistance of dr . lowell e . urbatsch , director of the lsu herbarium , louisiana state university . scientific name : the plant belongs to a group of azaleas called the “ southern indian azaleas ” or “ indicas ” that are hybrids derived from various species of rhododendron or derived directly from various species in that genus . rhododendron indicum ( l .) sweet , although often given as the scientific name for this group of plants , has had little or no part in the parentage of the indicas . most indicas are descendents of rhododendron simsii planch . r . mucronatum g . don and / or r . pulchrum sweet or their hybrids ; in the industry , however , the accepted parentage is considered that of rhododendron indicum . growth habit : shape of the plant at maturity : broad compact , mound - forming shrubs . individuals approximately 15 - 18 inches tall at about 2 . 5 years of age and 15 - 18 inches broad . it has not been observed as a mature plant in the landscape . branching habit : sympodial ( branching without a main axis but with many , more or less , equal laterals ). one to several stems are evident at or near ground level that branch and re - branch frequently and at close intervals . branches ascending or arcuate - ascending to upright . branch characteristics ( on mature growth of the current season ): branch length , 7 - 14 cm ; branch diameter , 1 . 5 - 2 . 5 mm ; internode length , 4 - 11 mm . characteristics of the plant in winter dormancy : during the winter the plants are evergreen , i . e ., the leaves remain on the stems . no signs of growth or flowering are evident during winter . hardiness is expected to be similar to ‘ red formosa ’ cultivars . it has proven to be hardy in regard to winter cold and summer heat in the southern portion of zone 8 . bark : stem coloration on twigs is 59 - a red purple group ; bark coloration ( on stems greater than 2 years old ) is 176 - b grayed - orange group . the stems , at least the lower ones , are rarely visible due to the compact leafy nature of the plants and , therefore , contribute little to its ornamental qualities . flower arrangement : arranged singly at stem terminus ; flowers face outward and upward . however , observations were limited , as flowering is sparse in the plants of less than 4 years old . flower appearance : corolla 5 - lobed ; star shaped ; flaring open , about 7 cm across ( lobe tip to lobe tip ); 4 . 5 - 5 . 5 cm deep ; diameter at base of lobes is 2 - 2 . 5 cm ; corolla lobes are spreading at right angles to long axis of the flower , corolla is a single whorl of petals , occasionally with 1 - 2 additional petal internal to the corolla , these inner petals are smaller may be as long as 2 cm long and 1 cm wide and have a spatulate shape . flower bud : rate of opening just after bud corolla becomes visible is about 2 - 3 days but rate is variable with temperature , sunlight , and possible other conditions . corolla color becomes visible when bud is about 15 mm long and 8 mm wide . flower bud shape is ovoid in shape when viewed dorsal - ventrally . it is about 4 cm long and 1 . 5 - 2 cm wide when the petals begin to open . in side view bud bulges slightly outward , inner surface is slightly concave . overall , the bud has a somewhat falcate shape . as viewed from the top or in cross - section bud is slightly 5 - lobed . color of corolla in bud stage is near 71 - c ( fan 2 , royal horticultural society colour chart ). petals : the petals are 5 in number and basally fused forming a corolla tube 2 - 3 cm long . petal appearance is satiny ; texture is smooth ; petals are spatulate ( obovate ) and 4 . 5 - 6 cm long and 2 - 2 . 5 cm wide with rounded lobes . the lobes are 2 . 7 - 3 . 3 cm long ; they are somewhat undulate and margins of the lobes are entire to slightly crenate ; margins are also undulate , with about 2 undulations per lobe giving the flower a ruffled appearance . external and internal petal color of the corolla lobes is near 71 - b ( fan 2 , royal horticultural society colour chart ). the petals ( corolla tube ) are slightly lighter toward the base being close to color 71 - c ( compare with ‘ red formosa ’ at 64 - b ). the anterior ( upper ) petal at about mid - level and below is mottled with darker spots close to 71 - a in color ( compare with ‘ red formosa ’ at 61 - a ). otherwise petal color is rather uniform . sepals : sepals are fused basally forming a 5 - lobed calyx ; each sepal is elliptic in shape and approximately 12 mm long and 5 mm wide with the lowermost 0 . 5 - 1 mm of each fused together forming a short calyx tube . the calyx lobes are approximately 11 mm long . calyx diameter ( sepal tip to sepal tip ) is about 2 cm . the sepals have entire margins , acute apices , moderate amount of pubescence abaxially ( outer surface ) and glabrous adaxially ( inner surface ). sepal color is close to 138 - c ( fan 3 , green group ) on both inner and outer surfaces . peduncle : peduncle ( i . e ., the stalk supporting a cluster of flowers ) length is about 25 mm long and about 2 mm in diameter ; it is somewhat flexible and it provides strong support for the flower ; it is moderately pubescent with uniseriate hairs ; and near 186 - a ( fan 4 , grey - purple group ). reproductive organs : androecium consists of 9 - 10 stamens . filaments are 3 . 5 - 4 . 5 mm long with a diameter of less than 1 . 5 mm ; filament color is closest to 61 - a ; filaments are flexible and slightly exceeding length of the corolla and , therefore , are slightly exerted . anthers are 1 . 5 - 2 mm long ; oblong in shape ; and closest to 79 - b in color ; pollen is a creamy white , 155 - d , and produced in moderate amounts . gynoecium appears to consist of 5 fused carpels . the ovary is densely pubescent ( sericeous ) with the hairs fully obscuring ovary surface ; hairs are shiny and closest to n155 - a ( fan 4 , white group ) in color ; ovary shape is ovoid and about 4 mm long . the style is about 6 . 5 cm long , 1 . 5 mm in diameter and near 61 - a in color . the stigma is truncate ( i . e ., with a flat surface ) and circular to slightly lobed in end view with a diameter of 1 . 5 mm . arrangement .— leaves alternate , that is one leaf per node . leaves spaced about ⅛ to ½ inches apart along the stems . leaf stalk ( petiole ) about ⅛ to ⅜ inches long . shape .— leaves elliptic to oblanceolate in outline ; apices acute to acuminate ; bases cuneate to rounded . margins entire although somewhat ciliate . size .— ½ to 1 inch broad and 1 to 2 inches long including the petiole . color .— crimson on the upper and lower surfaces ; shades of green somewhat more evident on the upper surface , less so on the lower . the crimson color is more intense on the new foliage and diminishes somewhat as the leaves age resulting in the older foliage having a deep crimson / green hue . color differs significantly from standard ‘ red formosa ’ which has bright green foliage at all stages of maturity . see fig9 . veins , especially the midvein and secondary veins , on the underside of the leaves on the ‘ crimson princess ’ retain the crimson color with age . see fig1 . the royal horticultural society colour chart was used as per their instructions in order to better quantify the colors of the leaves . the results are summarized in the following table 1 . 1 the mature leaves appear to be a blending of the green and reddish colors resulting in the greyed purple color . however , the green is somewhat more evident in the mature leaves compared to the younger ones . as a comparison , coloration of ‘ red formosa ’ is as follows : leaves upper surface , grayed - green group , n189a ; leaves lower surface , green group , 138a ; stem coloration 138 - b green group ; bark coloration , 177 - b grayed - orange group ; petiole coloration 138 - b , 138 - c green group . see fig4 and 5 . indumentum : the indumentum or plant hairs ( trichomes ) are hirsute in nature , i . e ., the individual hairs are uniseriate , slender , tapering at the tip and arising more or less perpendicular to the epidermis , and becoming somewhat flexuous slightly about the leaf surface . the hairs give the leaves and twigs a somewhat bristly texture . the same type of hairs are present on both the upper and lower leaf surfaces . in terms of density the indumentum is characterized as being moderately pubescent with the hairs being spaced about { fraction ( 1 / 32 )} inch ( 0 . 5 mm ) apart . on the lower surface the hairs are somewhat more closely spaced along the veins and petioles . indumentum on the stems is similar except for the hairs being somewhat more closely spaced than on the leaf blade surfaces . petiole .— length 5 - 6 mm ; diameter 3 mm wide , 1 . 5 mm thick ; coloration : upper and lower surfaces surface , 59 - a red purple group . disease resistances .— no known azalea diseases observed to date on plants grown under commercial conditions . expected to be similar to ‘ red formosa ’ cultivars — resistant to flower and leaf gall , caused by exobasidium vaccinii and root rot caused phytophthora cinnamomi ; susceptible to lace bug and to petal blight caused by ovulinia azalea .
a new and distinct variety of dwarf azalea originated as a whole plant sport of azalea ‘ crimson majesty .’ the new variety possesses unique red foliage , and is a dwarf , with height about 15 - 18 inches .