‘Harold E. Belcher’ [Stewart]


‘Harold E. Belcher’ [Stewart]

Photo © Carolyn Beck

Cultivar: Group: Color: Blooms: Type: Reg Ref:
‘Harold E. Belcher’ Stewart Early Midseason Evergreen
Height: Width: Hardy: Other Name(s): Seed Parent: Pollen Parent:
3' 3' Zone 7 ‘Asahi Sakigake’, (Belgian Indian) ‘James Stewart’, (Stewart)
3’ tall x 3’ wide with an intermediate habit. Buds Strong Purplish-Red (71C) with a white base. Flowers bicolor: white with Strong Purplish-Red (71C) margins of varying widths and Pale Yellow-Green (193A) blotch. Single with a few petaloid stamens, funnel-shaped with rounded, overlapping lobes and wavy edges, 3 3/4” wide x 2 1/4” long, 2-3 per cluster. Blooms early-midseason (late April to early May in Oak Hill, VA). Calyx Moderate Yellow-Green (138B), 5/16” long. Foliage Moderate Yellow-Green (138A), semiglossy. Leaf shape: elliptic with a cuneate base and acuminate tip, concave (side to side), downcurved (base to tip), up to 2 1/8” long x 1 1/8” wide. Cross: ‘Asahi Sakigake’, Belgian Indian x ‘James Stewart’, Stewart. Selection number: RBS 114. Breeder’s code: #12-00-1. Named for Harold Belcher who has served as an ASA Director and in many capacities for the Ben Morrison Chapter, including its President for many years. Harold played a huge role in the “Save the Azalea Campaign” and has been a longtime volunteer at the U.S. National Arboretum in the azalea garden.