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Hardy azaleas will soon be in bloom in Rossmoor

By Rebecca Pollon

Landscape manager

acute poisoning.

During the first century BCE, “mad honey” made from bees who exclusively fed on rhododendrons was used to temporarily stupefy Roman soldiers, allowing the Heptakometes of Turkey to defeat them in war. Pliny the Elder, a famous naturalist and proliic author, tested and documented the effects of mad honey in his book “Naturalis Historia,” one of the largest surviving works of the Roman Empire. Nepalese and Turkish cultures continue to use mad honey for traditional medicine and recreational use.

Due to centuries of hybridization, more than 10,000 species of rhododendrons and azaleas exist. The most adaptable to our conditions is the Among the world’s most beloved plants, azaleas are common throughout Rossmoor and will be lighting up the landscape with brilliant shades of red, white and pink as early as March and continuing through May.

Though the plants are called azaleas, they are actually a sub-species of Rhododendron. Taxonomists merged the two genus in recent years, but there are some features that distinguish azaleas from what are colloquially called “rhodies.” Rhodies are often taller with more rounded leaves and more pronounced flower clusters. Azaleas are generally maintained around three feet in Rossmoor and have narrower, pointier leaves, with ine hairs on them. Azaleas tend to fare better here than rhodies do, which are sometimes af licted with damaging insects such as thrip and whitely.

Azaleas and rhododendrons are toxic if eaten, which is how they survive among our large deer population. Consuming the plants in small quantities may cause disorientation and nausea, while ingesting them in large quantities can cause

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