In 2007, I picked up two 'Karen' azaleas from Lowe's because, well, of the name! LOL! And, it bloomed pretty purple flowers, my favorite color. Well, one survived and it took me two years before I found a replacement for the second one. I didn't know anything really about the plants, until I did some research and discovered they are semi-evergreen in my zone, meaning it'll drop most of its leaves except the ones at the tips. But I hadn't realized that it got such beautiful fall foliage, along with the pretty flowers. So I wanted to show you pictures of my azaleas:

The first one is of the 'Karen' I bought in '07, on May 6 of this year:

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Same azalea, but in its fall plumage, on 11-13-10:

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And this is of the second one bought last year. No blooms this year, but I'm sure it'll bloom next spring. It's pretty fall plumage:

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I've never had very good luck with rhodies and azaleas, but I'm glad I picked up my Karen's, because they are doing really well for me.

Karen