Rhododendron mucronulatum var. mucronulatum ("Karamurasakitsutsuji")

Japanese name: カラムラサキツツジ （唐紫躑躅）
Scientific name: Rhododendron mucronulatum var. mucronulatum

[Overview]
A deciduous shrub 2–3 m tall.
Young branches and leaves are densely covered with reddish brown scale-like hairs.
Young branches and leaf stalks are hairless from the start, or have long hairs at first that later disappear.
The leaves are simple and alternate, elliptical, 3–7 cm long and 1–3.5 cm wide, thick in texture, with pointed tips bearing glandular projections.
It flowers before the leaves unfold; the flowers are borne singly at the branch tips and are purplish red, with a 5-lobed corolla opening flat like a dish and dark spots on the inner surface of the upper side.
There are 10 stamens.
The fruit is a capsule.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
It prefers sunny, well-drained, fertile acidic soil that retains water.
Avoid dry places, or prevent the base of the plant from drying out by mulching or similar.
Potted plants are best placed in summer in partial shade out of afternoon sun and direct sunlight, and from autumn to spring in a sunny place sheltered from cold wind; in the ground, a spot shaded by deciduous trees is good.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries from autumn to spring, and in midsummer water twice a day, in the cooler morning and evening, wetting the leaves as well.
For plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient except in summer, when water in the cooler morning or evening, wetting the leaves as well; in winter, if dry weather continues, water in the morning of a warm day.
Apply organic fertilizer or slow-release chemical fertilizer with equal amounts of the three components around the plant three times in total: in winter, as thanks fertilizer after flowering, and in autumn.
Do not prune; just thin the buds in early summer after flowering to tidy the shape.
Remove spent flowers frequently.
Pests include spider mites, azalea lace bugs and Hypocala moorei (Benimon-aoringa).

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