Editing Azalea (section)

==Cultivation==
Plant enthusiasts have selectively bred azaleas for hundreds of years. This human selection has produced thousands of different [[cultivar]]s which are propagated by cuttings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bullock |first=Barbara L. |date=Spring 2009 |title=Overlooked Glenn Dale Azaleas |url=https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JARS/v63n2/v63n2-bullock.html |via=[[Virginia Tech]] |publisher=[[American Rhododendron Society]]|volume=63|issue=2|journal=Journal of the American Rhododendron Society|location=Craryville, New York}}</ref> Azalea [[seed]]s can also be collected and [[germination|germinated]].

Azaleas are generally slow-growing and do best in well-drained acidic soil (4.5–6.0 pH).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/landscape/shrubs/hgic1059.html|title=Home & Garden Information Center - Clemson Cooperative Extension - Clemson University, South Carolina|website=www.clemson.edu|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref> [[Fertilizer]] needs are low. Some species need regular [[pruning]].

Azaleas are native to several continents including Asia, Europe and North America. They are planted abundantly as ornamentals in the southeastern US, southern Asia, and parts of southwest Europe.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}}

[[File:George Taber azalea.jpg|right|thumb|[[George Taber azalea|cv. 'George Taber']]|alt=A flower of the 'George Taber' cultivar]]
According to azalea historian Fred Galle, in the United States, ''Azalea indica'' (in this case, the group of plants called Southern indicas) was first introduced to the outdoor landscape in the 1830s at the rice plantation [[Magnolia-on-the-Ashley]] in [[Charleston, South Carolina]]. From Philadelphia, where they were grown only in [[greenhouse]]s, John Grimke Drayton (Magnolia's owner) imported the plants for use in his estate garden. With encouragement from [[Charles Sprague Sargent]] from Harvard's Arnold Arboretum, Magnolia Gardens was opened to the public in 1871, following the American Civil War. Magnolia is one of the oldest public gardens in America. Since the late 19th century, in late March and early April, thousands visit to see the azaleas bloom in their full glory.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}

[[File:Mini pink azaleas in Maryland.jpg|thumb|Thirty-year-old bush, [[Maryland|MD]], USA|alt=Thirty-year-old flowering azalea bush, Maryland, USA]]