Single flowers have 5 stamens and 1 pistil. Semi-double flowers have fewer stamens as they’ve been turned into petals. If all 5 stamens have become petals than the flower is named “double” and will be a topic for another time.

In the photos below, look for extra petals near the middle of each flower and a some unchanged stamens. In most, but not all, azaleas, the stamens have a dark head (the anther) and the pistil has a light-colored head.

The first picture below is Bob Stewart’s first introduction, ‘Ashley Ruth’.

The next two are unnamed Joe Klimavicz hybrids.

ashley ruth br 2018-05-14cropped cl 95 107 joe k truss far back 2014-05-07croppedscaled joe k 5 14 c lavender white double hnh pot 2014-05-09croppedscaled

If you’d like to read my gardening blog, which has a lot more words and a lot fewer pictures, it rests at:

The Garden Edge

Azalea Flowers 101

Single

Most people aren’t aware that the flower shapes have been categorized. This posting will cover the simplest of the shapes: the single. Later posts will display hose-in-hose, semi-double and double flowers

Single flowers have 5 petals and 5 stamens (and one pistil.) At the base of the flower’s tube will be a very small rosette of green leaves, called: the calyx. In some of the pictures below, look for flowers that sit sideways and you can see it.