Rhododendron?

[Franklikestrees]

Not an Azalea, right?
Neighbor had put a few of these out on the curb about 4 weeks ago. I can’t help but rescue roadside plants. With no blooms at the time I was thinking they were all azaleas, so I grabbed 2. They are both budding. Very excited about them regardless and don’t really need to have a specific ID to work with them and enjoy them, but my curiosity does.

 

[Franklikestrees]

Oh and the neighbor next to them put a bunch of what I’m hoping are azaleas on the curb. I grabbed 5 of those. Odds are they’re the same as these (suburb trends…) but can’t tell yet, they all only have a few nasty leaves on gangly stems. I cut them back a bit and now all have swelling buds, but I really don’t know how to tell what they are yet.

 

[Glaucus]

Some R.pulchrum hybrid like 'Phoenicum', Formosum' or 'Omurasaki' ie a purple Hirado strong in R.scrabrum. They are very common in Florida and neighbouring states.
Not the best for bonsai, as they have very coarse growth. But they do very well in the humid warm climates.

 

[Franklikestrees]

Oh. Well thank you for that information. It shows me I know even less than I thought. Haha I’m going to take some time to learn about rhododendrons now. I’m glad I saved them still, I think that, bonsai potential or not they do have pretty flowers, so better in my backyard than the dump! Thanks!

 

[Franklikestrees]

What do you mean by course growth? Larger leaves and flowers?

 

[Glaucus]

Sorry, coarse. Yes.