perhaps you are thinking of 'flame creeper'? it has a low, spreading form.
a deciduous azalea commonly called flame azalea would be rhododendron calendulaceum.

that could be it. i planted them fall or spring of 2003. they are about 2" tall now. i was wondering if they get any bigger. i thought they were dead this spring, but i found a green leaf on each of my plants. the catalog said hardy to zone 5, but i thought they were not deciduous (may be remembering wrong). well, i am glad they are still alive, but they were pretty sorry looking all last year, good looking when i got them.

As Jeff points out, plants called "flame azalea" usually refer to the species, R. calendulaceum (see link). It's flowers range from light yellow to orange to brilliant red and a the whole range in between. So there are "red flame azaleas" out there!

R. cumberlandense (AKA bakeri) can also have very bright red flowers and there is a prostrate form with red blossoms, varietal name escapes me, maybe "red carpet" or something like that. Very beautiful plants! PF

Here is a link that might be useful: R. caleundulaceum

thanks! any suggestions for their sorry state? i have twigs with one leaf on the entire thing.

Fair Toadmother,

If the roots live and grow, so will the tops eventually. Just leave them alone for the time being, keeping them well watered but not soggy. In time new growth will start up again, but not necessarily from the existing wood. Very often stressed azaleas will resprout from the base of the existing stem. Let all this grow as it wishes this year and in the fall cut away the dead wood. Be sure to wait til fall to cut the dead wood even if it looks bad, it may not be actually dead even if it looks that way right now. Good luck with your plants. PF

BTW I love your name!

thanks for the suggestions and name compliment! one of them is in clay soil. i am sure that is stressing it. the other is in more loamy but i never checked it. it doesn't do much better. they are very young.

if the plant is in clay soil, should i dig it out( only 3"x6"), amend the clay, and replant? thanks.

I have Flame Creeper which is a low growing azalea with orange-red blooms. It took years to get established in a bed that produces great azaleas of other types. It now looks so great that I want to transplant it to a more prominent spot.

Do you amend your soil? The folks I know in Illinois claim they can't grow azaleas because of the alkaline soil.

hello, harryshoe. no, i haven't amended the soil. that is what i am wondering about. i do appreciate your info on how long it took to establish the little buggers. my other plant of the same type is not in clay, but still alkaline according to my pink nikko blue hydrangeas.

to add to the illinois claim that they can't grow azaleas: probably not a good thing, but i rarely follow the rules too closely! life would be easier if i did. poor plant at the mercy of fairy_toadmother.

I would buy a nice bale of peat moss and spread it under your azaleas as a mulch.

actually, i mixed peat into the soil a few years ago. i wonder if i didn't use enough. then again, with clay i was afraid it would hold even more water.

i found my paperwork, my azalea is rhododendron x 'hinode-giri' from springhill.

are you sure that is not rhododendron x Kurume 'Hino-girl'

or is it azalea red 'Hinide Girl'

actually, no, i am not sure. i am just taking the nursery's word for it. how can i tell the difference when very small?

I guess your plant is Flame Creeper. I am thinking of buying this one. Can you tell me if it is a true red orange? I don't want one that has any pink or yellow pink to its color. Just a pure red-orange. Thanks,
agbaird@sbcglobal.net

hello. i wish i could answer that. my azalea has not turned red since it came that way for spring planting 2003. very odd. i hvae since potted it as a container plant a few months ago. it appears to be getting some red. if it keeps up, i may be able to answer your question :)

Flame Creeper is a dwarf Satsuki.

{{gwi:387941}}

how are they doing now?