Yellow is an eye-catching color in the landscape. It's seldom seen in flowering shrubs. However, Admiral Semmes azalea (Rhododendron 'Admiral Semmes') not only has vibrant yellow flowers but is pleasantly fragrant, heat-tolerant and mildew-resistant, too." /> Yellow is an eye-catching color in the landscape. It's seldom seen in flowering shrubs. However, Admiral Semmes azalea (Rhododendron 'Admiral Semmes') not only has vibrant yellow flowers but is pleasantly fragrant, heat-tolerant and mildew-resistant, too." />

CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 02/22/07

Yellow azalea: 'Admiral Semmes' clearly a winner

By Gary Wade
University of Georgia

Yellow is an eye-catching color in the landscape. It's seldom seen in flowering shrubs. However, Admiral Semmes azalea (Rhododendron 'Admiral Semmes') not only has vibrant yellow flowers but is pleasantly fragrant, heat-tolerant and mildew-resistant, too.

Volume XXXII
Number 1
Page 22
These outstanding qualities easily earned this golden beauty a place in the Georgia Gold Medal winners' circle in 2007 as the year's best shrub.

Admiral Semmes azalea is the result of a hybrid cross between a large-flowered Exbury azalea called "Hotspur Yellow" and the native Florida azalea, Rhododendron austrinum.

It was introduced by Dodd and Dodd Nurseries in Semmes, Ala., and named after Confederate Admiral Raphael Semmes, whose record of 87 ships sunk or captured remains unbroken today.

This fascinating azalea is hardy throughout Georgia and the Southeast. It can take temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit. It's deciduous, so it's best to use it behind other plants in a perennial border, where it fades into the background in the winter.

Spectacular show

In early May, Admiral Semmes azalea's vibrant yellow flowers appear before its foliage, providing a spectacular show. The tubular, medium-yellow flowers are borne in terminal clusters on the previous season's growth. Its leaves are lustrous, dark green in the summer and turn orange-bronze in the fall.

Admiral Semmes azalea looks terrific when you plant it next to other Georgia Gold Medal winners like Blue Anise sage (1995) or one of the burgundy loropetalums (1997).

As with other azaleas, the partial shade of tall trees overhead is the ideal place for your new, yellow azalea. It will adapt to full-sun sites, though. You just need to water it during times when it isn't raining enough.

Admiral Semmes azaleas grow best in moist, well-drained, organic soils with a pH range from 4.5 to 6.0. "Well-drained" is the key. Planting it in places that don't drain well is a sure death sentence.

When you give it good growing conditions, Admiral Semmes azalea will reach 4 to 5 feet tall and equally wide after about 10 years. Prune it to shape it soon after it flowers each year.

It doesn't need a lot of feeding. A well-drained soil rich with organic matter is more important than fertilizer. Lightly apply an azalea-camellia type of fertilizer in the spring. That should be all the plant needs to thrive in your landscape.

(Gary Wade is a Cooperative Extension horticulturist with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)

Gary Wade is a Cooperative Extension horticulturist with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Gary L. Wade
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time to spend more of the holiday with guests, taking time ahead of the day to set expectations can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. CAES News
Manage holiday stress with kindness, boundaries 11/21/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Much like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time allows you to spend more of the holiday with guests, setting expectations ahead of the celebration can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science.
Conner Hall CAES News
CAES welcomes 2024 cohort of Rural Scholars 11/20/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences welcomed its fourth cohort of students chosen for the CAES Rural Scholars Program this fall just weeks after celebrating the program's first graduation. Georgia Orman, one of four inaugural Rural Scholars in CAES, graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education. The new scholars for 2024, all from Georgia, are Ela Ash of Ocilla, Lauren E. Coley of Cochran, Amelia Housley of Canon, and London O’Steen of Ambrose.
Women play a vital role in rural American farming, but much of that work is "invisible," like raising children or household chores, according to a new UGA study. (Getty Images) CAES News
The women and stress behind rural farming in America 11/19/24 Leigh Hataway
Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests the unique stresses from farm life may be taking a toll on one of the pillars of the families that make your dinners possible: the women who keep farming families running. “If we don’t control our food sources, we don’t control our health and safety,” said Anna Scheyett, lead author of the study and a professor in UGA’s School of Social Work. “It’s a matter of national security that farmers survive in the United States. And one of the big factors in helping farms survive is women.”
Mergoum at Creature Comforts CAES News
That's the spirit! 11/18/24 Maria M. Lameiras, Claire Sanders Kinnard
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Professional brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile.
Contest-winning concept becomes viable business for alumnus who developed solar-powered, self-propelled chicken coop as a student. CAES News
Poultry in motion 11/14/24 Sean Montgomery
Chris Ayers emerged from his orange and black rough-terrain vehicle with an ear-to-ear grin. “This is Chiktopia,” he said, sweeping his arm wide to indicate the back half of a 3,600-square-foot warehouse on his family’s farm in Ball Ground, Georgia. “This is where I manufacture and assemble the chicken coops. Everything is done entirely from over here.”
UGA Grand Farm Site Plan web CAES News
UGA Grand Farm wins stage two of 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund competition 11/13/24 Jordan Powers
Startups in the agricultural technology sector face significant barriers on the path to establishment, including access to training and capital. These barriers are heightened for underrepresented entrepreneurs seeking to start new companies. The University of Georgia Grand Farm, part of a historic partnership between the University of Georgia and Fargo, North Dakota-based Grand Farm, aims to change that.