Formosa Southern Indica Azalea

Rhododendron indica ‘Formosa’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 7b-10b Find Your Zone

Plant Type: Evergreen Flowering Shrub

Height at Maturity: 6-8′

Width at Maturity: 6-8′

Suggested Spacing: 5′ for solid hedge; 12’+ for space between plants

Growth Habit / Form: Dense, Mounding, Upright

Growth Rate: Moderate

Spacing: 5′ for solid hedges – 10’+ for space between plants

Flower Color: Purple

Flower Size: Large, 3-3.5″

Flowering Period: Spring

Flower Type: Single

Fragrant Flowers: No

Foliage Color: Dark Green

Fragrant Foliage: No

Berries: No

Berry Color: NA

Sun Needs: Full Sun or Mostly Sun, Morning Sun with Dappled or Afternoon Shade, All Day Filtered Sun, Morning Shade with Evening Sun

Water Needs: Average, Lower when established

Soil Type: Clay, Loam, Sand (Amended), Silt

Soil Moisture / Drainage: Well Drained Moist

Soil pH: 4.5 – 6.5

Maintenance / Care: Low

Attracts: Visual Attention

Resistances: Heat, Humidity, Sun

Description

One of the best of the sun and heat-tolerant evergreen Southern Indica Azaleas, Formosa Azalea wows in spring when it produces LOADS of large, bright purple flowers that nearly cover the foliage. Grows more rapidly than other types of azaleas in a large mound 6 to 8 feet tall and wide. This makes Formosa a fine selection for a colorful natural hedge or screen in landscape and woodland borders.

Landscape & Garden Uses

Growing in a large mound 6 to 8 feet tall and wide over time, Formosa Azalea is most useful as a natural hedge or in small to large groupings in landscape borders. The plants perform exceptionally well under tall pine trees. Also ideal for use as accents, corner plants or as espalier against large open walls in home foundation plantings. Lower branches can also be removed to form an attractive small evergreen tree serves well as a focal point in the landscape or large containers. A fine addition to Azalea gardens, purple theme gardens and cottage gardens.

Spacing: 5 feet apart for solid hedges; 12 feet or more apart for space between plants

Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 5a, where this Azalea variety is not winter hardy outdoors, you can enjoy it in containers that can be moved indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.

How To Measure Total Square Feet Of A Planting Area

How Many Plants Needed To Cover A Planting Area?

Growing Preferences

Southern Indica Azaleas are very easy to grow. They prefer a moist but well-drained acidic soil that is rich in organic matter and full sun to part shade. That said, we think they perform and look their best with a little shade or filtered sunlight during the hottest part of summer afternoons. Established plants have good drought tolerance.

Helpful Articles

Click on a link below to find helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Azaleas.

Planting Evergreen Azaleas In The Ground & In Pots
Fertilizing & Watering Evergreen Azaleas
Pruning Evergreen Azaleas

We are proud members of the ASA

Plant Long & Prosper!

Meet The Wilson Brothers & Staff

Questions? Contact Us!

My plants arrived in wonderful condition and were very healthy specimens. The leaves were bright green with no broken branches. The size of the plants was bigger than expected. Great job!————————————————Thanks for the kind words and awesome review! We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy them for years to come! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

I received my plants yesterday (8/17/2022) and had planted them all by 2:30pm, well before the rain shower.
I was HIGHLY impressed with the quality and size of these plants.
Thank you.———————————————————–We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy them for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

Plant is nice size for one gallon. Looks Good. Has grown some since planting it in it’s clay pot. This is or will be a house plant for my zone. Put it out in summer might try basement for winter – garage probably to cold. Definitely the place to come for azaleas.———————————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

We are very pleased with our recent order with Wilson Bros Gardens ! We ordered 2 Formosa Indica Azaleas and 1 Taiga Clematis. Both arrived Saturday 4-16. The packing was amazing. The plants arrived unscathed. Kudos to your packing folks. The Azaleas box was sturdy enough for truck to drive over it ! We recycle. I am excited to see how the Clematis blooms. I have a purple Clematis that I have been babying for 1 year. It has huge blooms already. (I bought it at Home Depot.) we will order from your nursery from now on. Fast delivery and very well packed. So happy !
We will be ordering Japanese Maples once we get the utility folks out here. The prior owners took all of the trees down in front. We face West and it is very hot on the front of the house.
Thank you for the beautiful more mature Azaleas !——————————————————–We are so glad you are pleased with your purchase! Thanks for the kind words and great review! Beth | WBG 🙂

I have a bush I planted over 45 years ago. I have spent a lot of time searching for more of the same type of azalea. You had exactly what I was looking for. Delivery was speedy and the product was very impressive. I’m working on my Master Gardener certification, I have advertised you to others in my group. Thanks for being so great to do business with.————————————————Wow!! We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks so much for the kind words and wonderful review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

Thank you so much for packing my plant so beautifully. It arrived in perfect condition.—————————————————————–We are so glad you are pleased with your purchase! Thanks for the kind words and great review! Beth | WBG 🙂

Beautiful plant and is ready for next year’s blooming! Can’t wait for the azalea to grow into a big huge plant with blooms all over it! I chose another..the Henry Clay also and will watch it grow also into a huge beautiful bloomer and plan to add to this group of azaleas plus a couple of wild ones…..Wilson Bros has been wonderful and have sent the healthiest plants free…..thank you!————————————————–We are so glad you are pleased with your purchase! Thanks for the kind words and great review! Beth | WBG 🙂

The 2 azaleas were heavily pot bound and I am praying they will live and next spring will show me their glorious colors. My lawn care man planted them and I have been watering them. So far they are looking good, Your shipping was very prompt and I was delighted to get the plants. I am so looking forward to next Spring.———————————–We are so glad you are pleased with your purchase! The Indica Azaleas are fast growing and sometimes the root system almost outgrows it pot, but they will do just fine, keep watering,,,, 🙂 Thanks for the great review! Beth | WBG 🙂

I was skeptical about ordering live plants from Georgia to be delivered to Virginia in hot weather, so I experimented by ordering small 1-gal. size azaleas. Was very pleasantly surprised when they arrived! The outside of the box was a bit crushed in places, but the plants were ingeniously packed inside and were in perfect condition! They were healthy, hydrated, and much larger than I expected for 1-gal. pots. I would not hesitate to order from Wilson Bros again!——————————————We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy them for years to come! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

I have been extremely happy with the several plants I have ordered this past month or so. Each and every one of them has been package & shipped with care. One or two seemed a bit lacking in size but after planting seem to be doing well. Will continue to order from Wilson as their plant selection far exceeds anything locally in Florida.———————————————————————–We are so glad you are pleased with your purchase! Thanks for the great review! Beth | WBG 🙂

The plants arrived in excellent condition. They were large and healthy. They are doing well after being planted. I am glad I purchased from Wilson Brothers.———————————————————–Hi Donnie, Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your review of the Formosa Southern Indica Azalea. We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! 🙂
Beth Steele | Wilson Bros Gardens

Perfect plant outstanding packaging. The best company to buy from so far! ———-WBG RESPONSE: Ivan – Thanks so much for taking the time to provide us and future visitors to Wilson Bros Gardens with your review! We certainly appreciate your business and do let us know if there’s anything else we can help you with in the future. We’re at your service!

I received three azaleas in excellent condition. I first saw the Formosa Azalea when I was a kid at Calloway Gardens. Have wanted some ever since. Am happy with my purchase and would highly recommend Wilson Bros Gardens to anybody looking for high quality plants.

Thank you Wilson Bros. Gardens. The plant came so nicely packaged and was so big and full it looked bigger than the ones I saw selling locally. Will buy from you again.