GIRARD'S HOT SHOT azalea

The ‘Girard's Hot Shot’ azalea is a spectacular hybrid azalea, famous for its bright red flowers and good cold resistance—a real gem for spring flower beds. 

🌺 Azalea ‘Girard's Hot Shot’

🔎 Identification

• Full name: Rhododendron (Azalea) ‘Girard's Hot Shot’
• Family: Ericaceae
• Group: Hybrid azalea from the Girard series, created in the United States (Ohio) in the 1960s
• Type: Ornamental evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub

🌸 Flowering

• Period: April to May (sometimes until early June depending on the climate)
• Flowers: large, single, bright orange-red, in large, very dense clusters
• Flower size: approximately 6 to 8 cm in diameter
• Visual effect: flamboyant red mass — one of the most intense among hardy azaleas

🌿 Foliage

• Leaves: small, elliptical, dark green, glossy
• Evergreen to semi-evergreen depending on climate (more evergreen in mild climates)
• Winter color: may take on bronze or reddish hues

📏 Size and habit

• Mature height: 0.8 to 1.2 m
• Width: 1 to 1.5 m
• Habit: compact, rounded, and dense
• Growth: average (neither too slow nor invasive)

❄️ Hardiness

• USDA zone: 5 to 9
• Withstands temperatures down to approximately -26°C
• One of the hardiest azaleas—well suited to cold and temperate climates

🌱 Growing conditions

• Exposure: light partial shade (tolerates morning sun but avoids intense heat)
• Soil: acidic (pH 4.5–6), humus-rich, light, cool but well-drained
  → Use heather soil when planting
• Watering: regular, especially in summer (without excess standing water)
• Mulching: ideal with pine needles or bark to retain moisture

Pruning

• Light pruning after flowering to maintain a beautiful shape
• Remove wilted flowers to stimulate the next flowering
• Avoid calcareous fertilizers; use a fertilizer for “heather plants” instead

✅ Advantages

• Spectacular red flowers 🌺
• Remarkable hardiness ❄️
• Compact habit perfect for beds, rockeries, or along paths
• Easy to care for
• Also interesting in containers or pots on patios

❌ Things to watch out for

• Hates lime (risk of chlorosis)
• Requires a certain amount of atmospheric humidity
• Shallow roots: do not dig around the base