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MONROE OUTDOORS by Terry W. Johnson
•Reporter
April 20, 2022
Native azaleas provide beauty, food for wildlife
c
TERRY W. JOHNSON
| urrently Monroe
County is awash
with dazzling
'azalea blossoms.
In fact, I believe you would
be hard pressed to find a
residential
area in the
county where
azaleas are
not bloom
ing. Indeed,
they have
become
symbolic
of spring
throughout
the South.
One would
think that this
explosion of breath-taking
blossoms provides but
terflies and hummingbirds
with an unlimited supply of
nectar. However, in truth it
does not.
Historians tell us the first
ornamental azalea plants
native to southern Asia
were initially grown only in
green houses. Then, in the
1830s, a shipment of these
plants arrived in Charles
ton, South Carolina where
they were subsequently
used to landscape a rice
plantation named Magno-
lia-on-the-Ashley.
Today, most of the azaleas
featured in landscapes
across the Southeast are
native to Asia. The azalea
has become so popular that
in 1979 it was named the
Georgia State Flower.
To date, more than 10,000
azalea cultivars have been
developed. In fact, aside
from a few well-
known favorites,
such as Pride of
Mobile, George
Tabor and Gen
eral Clay, most
of us are unable
to identify the
azaleas growing
in our yards.
For the most
part, although
these flowering
shrubs are pleas
ing to the eye, they don’t
produce an abundance of
nectar that is consumed by
wild pollinators, such as
butterflies and humming
birds. For this reason, we
rarely see butterflies and
hummingbirds visiting
the shrubs’ bright tubular
shaped flowers.
I personally have never
witnessed a ruby-throated
hummingbird feeding at
a bloom produced by an
exotic azalea. As for but
terflies, I occasionally see
eastern tiger swallowtails
visiting the blooms of these
showy plants.
For that reason, a couple
of years ago I was startled
to see cloudless sulphur
butterflies nectaring at
the blossoms that adorn a
handful of Encore azaleas
growing beside my drive
way. The Encore azalea was
developed at little over half
a century ago by Louisiana
native Robert “Buddy” Lee.
This azalea blooms three
times a year.
I have no idea what the
name of this cultivar is.
Thirty-one Encore cultivars
are available that range
from white to red and
lavender. I am not certain
if all of these shrubs have a
nectar output large enough
to attract butterflies. How
ever, according to Southern
Living, at least three variet
ies (Miss Lemon, Radiance
and Kaleidoscope) have
earned the reputation of
attracting butterflies and
hummingbirds.
Unfortunately, until
recently, most Georgians
have ignored the beauty
and wildlife value of our
native azaleas. Some 13
species of native azaleas
grow in the Peach State. All
of these shrubs are indeed
beautiful and provide food
for butterflies, humming
birds and other wild pol
linators.
Lortunately, in recent
years native azaleas are
being planted in parks and
other public lands as well
This eastern tiger swallowtail visits a native azalea, where
it can find more nutritious nectar than Asian azaleas pro
duce. (Photo/Terry Johnson)
as around homes. They
have also been added to the
world famous landscape of
the Augusta National Golf
Club, home of The Masters
Golf Tournament.
To me, the flowers borne
by these shrubs are more
delicate than and equally as
attractive as Asian varieties.
They also produce more
nectar than their ornamen
tal counterparts.
My wife and I have about
a dozen native azaleas
growing on our property.
As such we enjoy both their
beauty and watching our
backyard neighbors that
are drawn to them.
Thirteen species of aza
leas are native to Georgia.
We hope to add one of
these shrubs to our yard
this year; it is known as
sweet (also called smooth)
azalea (Rhodendron
arborescens). The National
Audubon Society selected
it as one of their Top Bird-
Friendly plants of 2017. Ac
cording to Audubon, “... it
provides nectar for hum
mingbirds and supports a
variety of caterpillars (up
to 50 species) for baby-bird
food.”
Sweet azalea is a decidu
ous plant that bears 2-inch
white petals and a long red
stamen. It is fast-growing
and attains a height of 5-6
feet.
Since there is a dizzying
number of azaleas growing
in yards across Georgia or
even in just Monroe Coun
ty, it is next to impossible
to know which varieties
are wildlife-friendly. I have
shared with you the names
of a handful of these special
plants. If you know of any
others that I can add to this
list, I would greatly appre
ciate it if you would let me
know about them.
In the meantime, let’s
enjoy the fantastic floral
show azaleas are currently
staging across the county.
Terry Johnson is retired
Program Manager of the
Georgia Nongame-Endan
gered Wildlife Program. He
has written the informative
column Monroe Outdoors’
for the Reporter for many
years. His book, “A Journey
to Discovery,” is available at
The Reporter. Email him at
t)woodduck@bellsouth. net.
Maradeth Leverett signed her commitment letter for the Berry College Equestrian
Team. (Photo/Debbie Menard)
Leverett
commits to
Berry College
Maradeth Leverett, a senior
STAR student at Mary Persons
signed her commitment letter to
compete for the Berry College
Equestrian team on Friday, April
15 at the Marigold Stables.
She is the daughter of Mike and
Karen Leverett and has one sister,
Marcelene who is currently a
student at Berry College.
BASEBALL
Continued from 1C
runs and then blew it wide open with
nine runs in the 5th. Crisp had location
issues on the mound as MP hitters
showed patience and taking a free pass
to first base 9 times. Final score with
MP on top in blowout fashion 14-1.
On Wednesday April 13, the Bull
dogs traveled to Kathleen to face the
AAAAA Veterans Warhawks riding
a 23-game win streak. MP jumped up
early with 2 rims in the first inning
as Ryan Jenkins smashed a line drive
triple past the centerfielder. However,
the Warhawks were able to scrape
together 7 unanswered runs capped off
by a four-rim 4th inning. Senior Eric
Snow blasted his 16th homer of the
season on a 1-0 count. Down 7-3 in the
top of the 7th, MP started to mount
a comeback loading the bases with 1
out with a single and 2 walks. Junior
Thomas Brooks then hit a deep sacri
fice fly to center which made it 7-4. In
the next at bat Ryan Jenkins hammered
a 0-1 pitch to deep left center. Unfortu
nately it was caught about 10 feet short
of the deepest part of the ballpark,
ending the impressive 23-game win
streak. Despite the loss, fans were given
a glimpse of the future with the arms of
Tristan Hunt and Zack Grizzard on the
mound as both are arms that continue
to develop. Grizzard has a decent mix
of pitches with above average velocity
and Hunt is already well above average
for velocity on his fastball but needs to
work more on control but can develop
into a dominant top of the rotation
starter.
TRACK
Continued from 1C
10:30.11. Logan Hickman,
R.J. Holder and Nehemiah
Jones were 3rd, 4th and
6th in the 300m hurdles.
Clayton Drury claimed 1st
place in the 1600m run at
5:09 with Cole Battles 3rd
(5:21) and Jonathan Head
5th (5:35). The Bulldogs
4 x 100 relay team took
3rd place at 45.08, barely
behind 2nd place Lamar
County at 45.05.
Mary Persons gathered
2nd, 3rd and 4th place
finishes in the 400m dash
thanks to Kaethen Bow
ers (52.68), Marquis Rice
(54.81) and Jake Lavinka
(56.35). Duke Watson
took 3rd place in the 100m
dash (11.35), and Brandon
Alford was 7th (11.69).
In the 110m hurdles Seth
Davis was 2nd, and Logan
Hickman was 5th. Clay
ton Drury was 1st in the
800m run (2:14.88), and
Bryce Shelton finished 3rd
(2:21.30). In the 200m dash
Champ Brantley, Kaethen
Bowers and Duke Watson
finished 9th, 10th and 11th.
Cole Battles was the
champion in the 3200m
run (11:23.01) with
Jonathan Head in 2nd
(11:49.22), and Mac Roeser
4th (12:53.47). The Mary
Persons 4 x 400m relay
team ran away with 1st
place in 3:45.48, ahead of
2nd place Jackson (4.00)
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